Beginning in 2011, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will expand the number of ICD-9 diagnosis and procedure codes it will process and accept on institutional claims, according to an article in the CMS publication MLN Matters.
CMS currently processes only the first nine diagnosis codes and six procedure codes submitted electronically, although the electronic format allows up to 25 ICD-9-CM diagnosis and procedure codes.
The change will add secondary diagnosis codes and associated present on admission codes. The American Hospital Association has advocated for the additional codes.
Beginning Oct. 1, 2013, hospitals and other HIPAA-covered entities must comply with the new ICD-10-CM and ICD-10-PCS coding systems.