More precise medical codes aim to track quality of care
Today, U.S. health providers use a system of roughly 14,000 codes to designate a diagnosis, for reimbursement purposes and in medical databases.
To get more precise, the updated system has about 68,000 codes, essentially an expanded dictionary to capture more of the details from a patient's chart.
Unusual accidents aside, the government says the long-awaited change should help health officials better track quality of care, spot early warning signs of a brewing outbreak or look for illness or injury trends.
"ICD-10 has the potential to create many improvements in our public health system," Andy Slavitt, acting administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, told health providers in a recent conference call.
With medical care gone digital, more precise diagnosis codes could allow researchers, even doctors themselves, to get a closer look at trends in one office or the entire country, Wergin said.
CMS can't estimate how many health providers are ready for the switch but officials think most large practices and hospitals are, so the agency is intensifying its focus on smaller doctors' offices, said Dr. Mandy Cohen, CMS' chief of staff.