History of Medical Coding: From Bertillon to ICD and CPT

Medical coding standardization began in the 19th century to improve documentation, communication, claims processing, and research.

Key Milestones

• 1893: Bertillon Classification of Causes of Death (Jacques Bertillon)
• 1966: AMA introduces CPT (Current Procedural Terminology) for procedures
• WHO ICD: International Classification of Diseases for diagnoses

Drivers

Healthcare specialization, complexity, and the rise of health IT/EHRs demanded detailed, standardized codes for efficient data exchange, billing, quality improvement, and research.

Today, medical coding is essential to modern healthcare systems.