Alligator on Golf Course (Photo : Reuters)
American physicians, hospitals, and health insurance companies began using a United States version of the World Health Organization's (WHO) latest International Classification of Diseases (ICD) on October 1, Thursday. ICD-10 is a wide-ranging set of alphanumeric medical diagnosis codes used to describe injuries and diseases in extraordinary detail.
The U.S. version was developed by The National Center for Health Statistics, according to Hartford Courant. It is part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The transition was mandated by the U.S.'s federal government. It has been dubbed the health care industry's Y2K moment since the codes have not undergone a revision in 36 years.
Doctors and medical centers are both on high alert. That is because the mysterious codes of letters and numbers affect how health care providers earn income. Using the wrong codes can result in receiving a partial payment or even none at all.
Various health care workers have criticized the new ICD-10 code on social media. Some of the most unusual codes include: crushed by alligator, pecked by a chicken, asphyxiation due to being trapped in a car trunk, problems in relationship with in-laws, and bizarre personal appearance.
Niko Skievaski is the author of an illustrated book about some of ICD-10's most infamous codes. He explained that the code system is used to transfer information from the clinical side to insurance side, according to NPR.
Due to the upgrade, doctors' diagnoses have skyrocketed from around 14,000 to almost 70,000. Meanwhile, hospitals must use around 72,000 codes.
Four states including California will have the most difficult switch to ICD-10. That is due to their outdated billing systems.
Some recent tests of the medical codes have resulted in many claims being denied because they were wrongly completed or submitted. It was about one-fifth of them.
