Various Aspects of ICD-10 Coding - Essay Example

"Various Aspects Of ICD-10 Coding" is a remarkable example of a paper on the health system.
Over a decade ago, the world health organization approved the revised 10th edition of International Classification of Diseases famously known as ICD-10 (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services 1). This approval was due to the completion of the revision of ICD-9 adopted in the year 1979. The ICD-10 would contain more information for every code that would also entail the improved ability to understand the risks and how severe they can be (Lovaasen and Schwerdtfeger 19). It would also capture the quality measurements for a better care management plan. However, the new system of coding came with challenges pertaining to the documentation bit since it would require the physicians to provide new information, and other documents would require modification and updating. The paper addresses various aspects of ICD-10 coding.

ICD-10 contains multiple codes. Indeed, ICD-10 provides more than 14,400 codes that seek to track advanced diagnoses (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services 1). The expansion has led to the provision of the poorly controlled codes. It has also led to a constant dependency on the physicians to code the controlled levels. The other issue concerns injuries. The current code contains an expansive category for injuries whereby a seventh character produces the encounter type. At this stage, Professionals are also required to code the size and the depth of any particular injury something that does not feature in the physician documentation.

Underdosing is another documentation issue that manifests in ICD-10 coding. It describes the situations where the patient takes less medicine than the prescription of the physician (Lovaasen and Schwerdtfeger 47). At this stage, the medical condition of the patient is sequenced first before the underdosing code. The extra code is more concerned with the reason the patient did not finish the medication that obligates the physician to include the same in the records. Many physicians find it weird to include such information in the patient’s record. The health professionals have encountered some challenges that are because of the ICD-10. One of them is the need to acquire some training on how to improve the current documentation and coding issue. This training will naturally incur some costs whereby the physicians have to find money to cater for this training.

On the other hand, the training will take time since is not an easy thing to master how to document the current codes. Revenue cycle management is one of the key areas that the documentation of ICD-10 has had an impact. It entails medical coding, contract management, and reimbursement. It will be upon the health systems to decide on whether the current codes provide the actual representation of the policies of the organization (Lovaasen and Schwerdtfeger 59). On the other hand, the organization should see if there is a better way of leveraging the capabilities of ICD-10 to achieve the exact reflection of the services of the organization. Regarding reimbursement, ICD-10 requires the physician to describe the conditions of the patient differently. The current coding provides elaborate instructions concerning clinical conditions than the previous one. The management must adhere to new coding guidelines because of reimbursement.