Attention Medical Coders and health care professionals, we are here to discuss on the importance of ICD-10. Before going any further let me tell you what is ICD? The International Classification of Diseases (ICD) is a standard system of classification of disease. This system uses coding for the classification and identification of diseases and health problem. ICD-10 codes are an updated version of ICD-9. It has around 155,000 diagnosis codes which is a huge number when compared to it the earlier ICD-9 that has 17000 codes approximately. These codes have a certain pattern i.e. they consist of 3 to 7 characters, first one is a letter and the rest could be a number of letter with a decimal after 3 characters.
Moving further, let us now discuss on the reasons to learn ICD-10 Coding!
Since ICD-10 has replaced ICD-9, it is important to be aware of updated anatomy, physiology and other medical terminology codes for an improved work. You need to be ahead of your competitors as learning these numerous codes is not a single day job. The more you delay the more will be complexity. You will even have to pass the AAPC ICD-10 proficiency test, only then you will be considered as fully prepared for practice. Your keen learning attitude will help you speed up in your coding which will obviously enhance career in this field.
If you really want to be ahead in the race from your fellow competitor you must not wait any further. There are resources available online at Codingmaterials.com where you can buy ICD-10 Official Codebooks or any other medical coding books, EBooks and other resources and become a master in your field. Have you grabbed your copy yet?