ICD-9-CM Coding: A Guide for Medical Coders & Billers

The International Classification of Diseases, 9th edition, or ICD-9 is a medical diagnosis code reference book used by medical insurance billers and coders. A medical coder will view a patient's chart after each visit and translate the physician's notes and diagnoses into codes for documentation and billing the insurance company. If the physician cannot immediately diagnose a patient, signs and symptoms can be coded. These diagnosis codes are used by the insurance company to determine the medical necessity of procedures that have been provided to the patient. If questions should arise when coding a patient's chart, several options are available to help find answers to your questions.

Things You'll Need

• Internet access
• Phone

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Instructions

• 1

  Read all of the inclusion and exclusion notes carefully in the ICD-9 book. Also check the coding guidelines in the front of the ICD-9 handbook.

• 2

  Ask the physician who wrote the patient chart notes. The physician may be able to easily answer your question, saving you the time of referencing other resources.

• 3

  Call the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) at 1-800-633-4227 or visit on-line at www.cms.gov. CMS is run by the Human Health Services Department and are responsible for publishing updated versions of code books each year for insurance reimbursement. The CMS website also has a "Code Lookup" (see link in reference section).

• 4

  Refer to a coding organization such as the American Association of Professional Coders (AAPC). Contact them at 1-800-626-2633 or visit the on-line forum at www.aapc.com.