ICD, the International Classification of Diseases, 10th revision, is a set of codes used by providers in clinical settings to classify procedures, diseases, injuries and encounters in health care settings for billing purposes. They determine how much providers get paid for each patient encounter, and they also help track the incidence of conditions (such as cancer and sepsis) at health facilities.
Deeper dive
The update to ICD-10 was made Oct. 1, 2015, by the federal government. The previous ICD-9 codes were more than 30 years old and had become outdated. There are 68,000 ICD-10 codes (vs. 14,000 ICD-9 codes), and the code format has been extended, providing more specific information on the patient’s diagnosis. The switch to ICD-10 aims to provide better data on health care utilization and patient care quality. For more information, see the CMS website.