Medical Coding Update – ICD-10

The gears are engaged and the wheels are turning for the implementation on Oct. 1, 2013 of ICD-10, otherwise known as the International Classification of Diseases 10th Edition, the “bible” that all medical coders need to follow in diagnosis coding and reporting. And despite urgent appeals by the American Medical Association (AMA) to Congress to stop the implementation of ICD-10, updates of ICD-9 (the current and soon-to-be-replaced code manual) have for all intents and purposes, stopped.

Once ICD-10 is phased in, coders will not only need to master a much wider medical terminology, but will also have to work more closely with doctors on the new codes. Significantly, medical billing and coding training will need to be updated for many schools.

Meanwhile, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) is already focused on ICD-10 and just recently, under authorization by the World Health Organization (WHO), it updated its ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines for Coding and Reporting for 2012.

The proximity of the changeover has medical coders scrambling for medical billing and coding training and resources. Meditec.com, a premier provider of many online courses, including pharmacy technician classes and professional medical transcription training, provides medical billing and coding training to those who want to take advantage of this suddenly-much-in-demand career—especially now that ICD-10 is coming.