YESBLOG: HIM & CODING NEWS
The YES HIM Consulting blog provides medical coding news, updates, and resources for health information management and coding professionals. Subscribe to the YES HIM & Coding Insights Newsletter today.
ICD-10-CM code U07.1 COVID-19 will be in effect as of April 1 in the US, which was pushed up from the normal effective date of October 1 for new codes. The reasoning for this unprecedented change is for the urgent need of immediate data collection. CMS has released a new update on 3/23/2020: “The ICD-10 MCE Version 37.1 R1 uses edits for the ICD-10 codes reported to validate correct coding on claims for discharges on or after April 1, 2020″ (2020). The ICD-10 MS-DRG Grouper software package to accommodate this new code, Version 37.1 R1, is effective for discharges on or after April 1, 2020.
Medical coding is the process of assigning numeric or alphanumeric codes to the diseases, injuries, treatments, and procedures that healthcare providers perform to record each encounter accurately and correctly bill the patient.
Preparations are underway for the incoming financial, organizational, and human burden that will be thrust upon hospitals and medical facilities across the nation due to the spread of the Novel Coronavirus and its corresponding disease (COVID-19).
The United States will begin using code U07.1 COVID-19 as of April 1 – rather than the usual effective date for new codes of October 1. This new code is being fast-tracked to allow for the urgent need of immediate data collection. Interim coding guidelines from the CDC are still to be used between now and the effective date (CDC, 2020). Review our previous article, “Coding for Coronavirus Outbreak: Interim Guidance from the CDC,” for additional information about code U07.1.
The global outbreak of the “zoonic” virus classified as SARS-CoV-2 and the disease that it causes (Coronavirus Disease 2019 or COVID-19) threaten to put a large-scale strain on the US health care system.
Subscribe to the YES Insights Newsletter
