ICD-10-CM (based on the International Classification of Diseases, 10th edition, Clinical Modification) is a standard set of codes used for conveying a patient’s clinical profile, if you will. Defined codes are used primarily to facilitate the gathering of data, its analysis, benchmarking and eventual use in health planning and policy. To be honest, the purpose of ICD-9-CM was the same; the big difference is that the specificity of ICD-9-CM codes pales in comparison to ICD-10-CM. (Imagine…. ICD-9-CM has approximately 14,000 diagnosis codes; ICD-10-CM has over 70,000!)

Many other countries have been using ICD-10 for some time, and the US is late to the game. By adopting the use of this new code set, the US will be able to benchmark and compare its population’s morbidity and mortality to those in other countries.

Read more by visiting our blog: What exactly is ICD-10?