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ICD 10 Coding Alert

GEMs:

Making This "True Crosswalk" Assumption Could Cost You Time and Money

Published on Tue Jan 03, 2012

Follow this guide to find out what each flag really means. You have seen plenty of ICD-9 to ICD-10 bridges online, but beware: these bridges are based on GEMs, which are only about 50-percent accurate. If you rely solely on this mapping tool, you are likely to miss important coding subtleties, which could land your claim in limbo land. Follow this step-by-step explanation to master GEMs and what each digit really means. Basics: GEMs stand for General Equivalent Mappings. Note: The important term to remember is "general." The GEMs are the raw material from which providers, health information vendors and payers can derive specific applied mappings to meet their needs. You can use GEMs to study the differences between ICD-9-CM and ICD-10-CM/PCS. The GEM file is a "flat file," meaning this is a record with no structural relationships. (You can download it here: http://www.cms.gov/ICD10/11b1_2011_ICD10CM_and_GEMs.asp#TopOfPage) Are GEMs a True Crosswalk? [...]
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