With all of the negative talk going around about the ICD-10 conversion, the author of this article puts forth reasons why ICD-10 will prove to be a good thing…eventually.
- Updates technology and specificity. ICD-9 was developed in 1979 and is now more than 30 years old.
- Improves public health tracking. ICD-10 makes it easier for public health officials to track diseases and threats, dangerous settings, and even acts of bio-terrorism.
- Discourages up-coding and fraud. More specificity will make it harder for providers to lump patients into a more severe disease or procedural category.
- Specifies reasons for patient noncompliance. The current system offers one classification for patients who fail to follow a recommended regimen, while the ICD-10 offers at least eight.
- Detailed data on injuries and accidents. ICD-10 offers information about injuries such as where they occur, what part of the body was injured, and what implements were used.
- Tracking of healthcare-associated conditions. ICD-10 allows much greater explanation and accountability for adverse events that occur within healthcare institutions.
- Specifies procedures by degree of difficulty. ICD-10 allows certain procedures to be subdivided by difficulty.
- Precision in reporting complications from medical devices. ICD-10 allows providers to be much more precise in describing the nature of the malfunction.
- Creates jobs. Conversion to ICD-10 will create jobs for coders and trainers.
- Aligns with EHR. The conversion to ICD-10 will ensure that electronic medical records, value-based purchasing metrics, and meaningful use incentive programs speak the same language.