Oncology & Hematology Coding Alert

Question: Whatever happened to ICD-10? Is that coming out soon? Mississippi Subscriber Answer: Don't throw your ICD-9 manual away just yet. It looks like we-re about three years away from implementing the next generation of diagnosis codes. On Aug. 15, the Department of Health and Human Services announced its proposal to replace the ICD-9 codes with the ICD-10 series on Oct. 1, 2011. Not only would the new code set completely overhaul your claims systems, software, and superbills -- but it could require a lot of training for your staff. Devil's in the details: Think you have a hard time getting your physicians to be specific enough in their notes now? The ICD-10 system is much more particular: It uses as many as seven alphanumeric digits instead of the current three or four. Here are examples of the differences: - ICD-9: 194.0 (Malignant neoplasm of adrenal gland) - ICD-10: C74.01 (Malignant neoplasm of cortex of right adrenal gland). - ICD-9: 288.64 (Plasmacytosis) - ICD-10: D72.822 (Plasmacytosis). A next-generation set of procedure codes -- ICD-10-PCS -- for inpatient hospital services is also in the works. Take a closer look at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/ICD10/downloads/i10tab0707_pdf.zip and http://www.cms.hhs.gov/MLNMattersArticles/downloads/SE0832.pdf.