ICD‐10 - hmislk/hmis GitHub Wiki
Overview of ICD-10
The International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10), is a global standard developed by the World Health Organisation (WHO) for classifying and coding diseases, health conditions, and causes of death. It provides a comprehensive system for organising health information, essential for clinical documentation, epidemiology, health management, and billing.
Purpose and Uses
ICD-10 serves several key functions:
- Standardises disease classification for morbidity (illness) and mortality (death) statistics worldwide.
- Facilitates health data comparison across countries and time periods.
- Supports clinical care, research, and public health by providing detailed, consistent codes for diagnoses, symptoms, and external causes of injury or disease.
- Enables insurance reimbursement and administrative reporting in healthcare systems.
Structure of ICD-10
ICD-10 is organised into chapters based on body systems or disease categories. Each condition is assigned a unique alphanumeric code, allowing for specific and detailed documentation.
- Codes: ICD-10 codes generally consist of three to seven characters. The first character is always a letter, followed by numbers and, where needed, additional letters or numbers for further specificity.
- Chapters: The code set is divided into chapters such as infectious diseases, neoplasms, circulatory diseases, injuries, and more.
- Specificity: ICD-10 allows for much greater detail than previous versions. For example, it can specify the laterality (left or right side of the body), type, and stage of a disease or injury.
National Modifications
Many countries have developed their own versions of ICD-10 to fit local healthcare needs. In the United States:
- ICD-10-CM (Clinical Modification): Used for diagnosis coding in all healthcare settings.
- ICD-10-PCS (Procedure Coding System): Used for coding inpatient hospital procedures.
These adaptations expand the number of codes and provide even more detail for clinical and billing purposes. For example, ICD-10-CM has over 70,000 codes, compared to about 14,000 in the base ICD-10.
Key Features and Improvements Over ICD-9
- Expanded code set: More codes and categories for improved specificity.
- Alphanumeric codes: All positions can be alphanumeric, not just the first.
- Modern terminology: Updated language and classification for current medical practice.
- Enhanced detail: Codes can specify severity, location, cause, and other clinical details
Examples of ICD-10 Codes
- G10 | Huntington's disease
- K26.1 | Acute duodenal ulcer with perforation
- M80.021G | Age-related osteoporosis with current pathological fracture, right humerus, subsequent encounter for fracture with delayed healing
Each additional character in the code adds more clinical detail.
Summary
ICD-10 is a globally recognised, detailed system for classifying diseases and health conditions, essential for clinical care, research, public health, and healthcare administration. Its expanded, alphanumeric code structure allows for precise documentation and data analysis, supporting improved patient care and health system management