Question

Discuss the various coding systems that you will encounter and the difference between each.

Answer 1

The three types of codes used in medical coding system are, CPT, ICD-9 and ICD-10.

Current procedural terminology (CPT) is a medical code used in reporting of medical procedures and services to the health care professionals and insurance companies and is maintained by American medical association.

The CPT coding represents the codes of medical services but not the diagnosis procedures.

Eg: CPT code for the repair of a laceration to the diaphragm is 39501.

The ICD code (International classification of diseases) is a health system adaptation of United States, in which specific codes are assigned to different disease states. These codes represent the diagnosis and procedures (can only applied to inpatient setting). In length, the ICD-10 codes are longer than ICD-9 codes. The ICD 10 codes are alphanumeric, whereas the ICD-9 codes only have numerical. ICD-10 codes are more specific regarding a health condition, they allow to identify the location or the anatomical site, etiology, intensity of the disease and specificity regarding the laterality (eg: right leg, left leg). The ICD-10 codes also include the new emergent diseases, which are absent in case of ICD-9 codes. The definitions of certain diseases is also updated in ICD-10, which reflect the current practices (for example, the definition of acute MI (myocardial infarction) is changes to 4 weeks from 8 weeks).

Eg:

The ICD 10 code for ptosis of breast is N6481

The ICD 9 code for congenital tuberculosis is 771.2