US doctors fear transition to new health codes
Healthcare providers are being faced with having to use a new system of medical codes in order to describe the injuries and illnesses of patients. This system is known as ICD-10, and it contains over one hundred thousand new codes which will take effect on October 1st. However, doctors are becoming anxious as it will require them to use the system properly, otherwise it could lead to claims being denied and payments being delayed.
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. — The nation’s health care providers are under orders to start using a new system of medical codes to describe illnesses and injuries in more detail than ever before. The codes will cover common ailments: Did a diabetic also have kidney disease? But also included are some that are far less common: whether the patient was crushed by a crocodile or sucked into a jet engine.

The more than 100,000 new codes, which will take effect on Oct. 1, have potential benefits, as they will require doctors to make a deeper assessment of many patients.

But the change is causing waves of anxiety among health care providers, who fear that claims will be denied and payments delayed if they do not use the new codes, or do not use them properly. Some doctors and hospitals are already obtaining lines of credit because they fear that the transition to the new system will cause cash-flow problems.

“It’s a sea change for physicians,” said Dr. Pardeep Kumar, a 46-year-old internist here who is counting down to Oct. 1. “We will have to be very much more specific.”