Question

Explain how a medical coder may forward map and verify a medical code in ICD-10-CM, or reverse map and verify a code to ICD-9-CM.

Answer 1

Mapping is not a straightforward correlation between the codes. The medical coder is responsible to evaluate the documentation in the medical record, the coding choices provided, and to reference the ICD-10-CM code book to verify the ultimate code selection. As a person who interacts with coding, a medical coder must be fluent in both ICD-9-CM and ICD-10-CM in view to make a clear shift as seamlessly as possible.

As the name suggests, FORWARD MAPPING denotes mapping from ICD-9-CM TO ICD-CM whereas BACKWARD OR REVERSE MAPPING shows a reverse pattern of mapping from ICD-10-CM TO ICD-9-CM. These mappings are designed to help the user to navigate the complexity of translating meaning from one code set to the other.

HOW TO VERIFY A FORWARD MAPPING OR REVERSE MAPPING? There are number of difficulties to perform a translations between ICD-9-CM to ICD-10-CM or vice versa because ICD-10-CM is significantly different from ICD-9-CM in terms of format, concept and structure. ICD-9-CM helps to describe diagnoses and ICD-10-CM helps to classify and code all diagnoses, symptoms and procedures recorded in hospital care settimgs.

GEMs( GENERAL EQUIVALENCE MAPPINGS) is a resource of crosswalk ( used to translate or mapfrom one set to another) from one code to another which helps to map forward or backward between ICD-9-CM to ICD-10-CM. But one have to keep in mind that to handle out these mapping or translations, the coder should familiar with all these processes. The GEMs helps to provide a link between the codes in one system with all valid alternatives in the other code set from which end result can be made depending on the end use of the mapping.