The International Classification of Diseases (ninth revision) for Clinical Modification (ICD-09-CM) is a medical classification system that is based on World Health Organization guidelines. It serves a great purpose, especially in the United States, by providing a list of diseases, their codes and other medical procedures such as surgery and therapeutic procedures. It provides a six-alphanumeric code for all diseases and procedure. The advantage of this system is that it standardizes communication among players in the medical field.
(ICD-09-CM) has the volumes of coding. Volume 1 is a diagnosis code which provides numerical list of disease codes. Volume 2 is also a diagnosis code which as an alphabetic index of disease entries. Volume 3, however, is a procedural code for medical services such as surgery, therapeutic procedures and diagnosis. A new system of codes (ICD-10-CM) is currently in development and is expected in October 2015.
Another important set of codes is the Current Procedural Terminology (CPT). Its purpose is to develop and maintain codes for medical services. It is also engaged in managing telehealth services. CPT is owned by the American Medical Association, (AMA). Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System, (HCPCS) is a coding system also owned by AMA and is involved in medical billing systems. It aids medical financiers such as insurance companies to properly process payment transactions for medical services. The HCPCS system was enacted in 1996 and it has since become mandatory.
Sections of the CPT manual
(0001F-0015F) Composite measures
(0500F-0575F) Patient management
(1000F-1220F) Patient history
(2000F-2050F) Physical examination
(3006F-3573F) Diagnostic/screening processes or results
(4000F-4306F) Therapeutic, preventive or other interventions
(5005F-5100F) Follow-up or other outcomes
(6005F-6045F) Patient safety
(7010F-7025F) Structural Measures
Parts of the CPT Manual
Part One: Deals with general diseases and medical procedures. Their codes are two groups of 5- digit letters each, For instance (01958-01969) obstetric.
Part Two: These codes use of an alphabetical character as the 5th character in the code string, thus the code has four digits followed by the letter F. For instance, 1000F-1220F- Patient history.
Part Three: deals with emerging technologies in the medical field.
The CPT code is regularly evaluated for relevancy and also to keep it up to date with emerging trends.
V and E Codes in (ICD-09-CM)
V codes are used to describe scenarios which have not been caused by disease or injury. Such encounters may include: newborns, exposure to infectious disease and aftercare services. E codes. E codes are used to capture the external data on the cause of injury. Such data includes the intent, environment and the place where the injury occurred. They provide data for injury research and prevention strategies.
