ICD-10 is diagnostic coding system implemented by the World Health Organization in 1993 to replace ICD-9. Currently, almost every healthcare professional across the globe uses the ICD-10 system with the exception of providers in the United States, which have yet to make the transition to ICD-10. Moving to ICD-10 will allow for better analysis of disease patterns and treatment outcomes that can advance medical care, helping to streamline claims submissions and making initial claims much easier for payers to understand.

Anyone who is qualified to code ICD-9 should be able to easily make the transition to ICD-10 as both systems are quite similar. However, many improvement have been made to the ICD-10 system necessitating formal training and certification processes for current and prospective coders. Whether students are new or currently working in the medical industry, everyone will be affected by the new coding system, which will go from 13,000 to 68,000 codes. The impact of this shift is substantial. Not only does the new code set include five times as many codes as the ICD-9 code set, the different arrangement of codes will require more documentation, revised forms, retraining of staff and physicians, and changes to software and other information technology. Changes in reimbursement patterns may also result from the increased specificity of the new code set. The compliance date for practices to implement both ICD-10-CM and ICD-10-PCS is October 1, 2014.

The ICD-10: For Allied Health Professionals course will provide allied health professionals with key information regarding the transition from ICD-9-CM to ICD-10-CM/PCS. This short course will present an overview of ICD-10, the changes that practitioners will need to know about in order to provide accurate information to medical billers and coders, and other important aspects of ICD-10 that relate directly to ensuring appropriate coding and payment.

The ICD-10: For Allied Health Professionals course will address the following primary course objectives:

• Explain the benefits of ICD-10-CM over ICD-9-CM
• Explain the organizational structure of the ICD-10-CM manual
• Explain the meaning and significance of the various characters and terms found in the ICD-10-CM coding system
• Explain the nuances of ICD-10-CM
• Describe the purpose and process of procedural coding
• Explain the benefits of ICD-10-PCS over ICD-9-CM Volume 3
• Explain the meaning and significance of the various characters and terms found in the ICD-10-PCS coding system