ICD-10 Code Changes Details on ICD-10-CM and PCS

Published: Apr 18, 2016
Share

On October 1, 2015, we in the health care industry transitioned to the new ICD-10 code set. And just in case you thought everything was now settled…it’s not; be ready for more changes. In March 2016, 1,900 code changes to ICD-10-CM were proposed by stakeholders at the ICD-10 Coordination and Maintenance Committee meeting, in addition to several more changes to the ICD-10-PCS code set, which itself already has more than 3,600 new codes approved for October 1, 2016 implementation.

Typically, the ICD-9-CM and ICD-10 code sets are updated annually; however it’s been 4 years since the last update occurred. Both code sets received only limited updates between 2012-2014 to encompass new technologies and diseases. The partial code freeze ends October 1, 2016. The majority of the changes-to-come were requested by specialty groups such as obstetrics and gynecology.

ICD-10-CM

There are also 1,900 new ICD-10-CM codes proposed for the October 2017 release. That number includes 313 deletions and 351 revised codes. These codes are posted on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Center for Health Statistics website.

A few codes will be released early, most notably the Zika virus code (A92.5), with even more codes proposed for the 2017 release.

ICD-10-PCS

There are 75,625 ICD-10-PCS codes for fiscal year 2017. That number includes 3,651 new codes and 487 revised codes. Many of these changes revolve around cardiac coding and providing options that were available in ICD-9 but are missing in ICD-10. The cardiovascular system section has 3,549 additions.

The complete list of proposed new and revised codes for ICD-10-PCS is available on the CMS.gov website. The final rule, with codes to be implemented October 1, 2016, will be released August 1, 2016.