New ICD-10-CM/PCS Codes Now in Effect for Rev Cycle

As of April 1, coding teams now have 42 new diagnosis codes and 34 new ICD-10-PCS procedure codes to choose from.

The CDC’s ICD-10-CM diagnosis code changes, including 42 diagnosis code additions, seven deletions, and one code revision, are officially in effect.

The new diagnosis codes, which became billable on April 1, place a heavy focus on social determinants of health (SDOH).

For example, there is now a new SDOH code for reporting problems related to education and literacy is among the code additions.

Also added are codes to update the verbiage related to critical perpetrator of abuse external cause codes with that of current CDC core data collection elements and literature related to patient maltreatment and neglect — including elder abuse.

There is also a slate of new codes pertaining to “financial abuse” of adults and children. For example, the April update brings a code for adult financial abuse, confirmed, initial encounter and a code for child financial abuse, confirmed, initial encounter.

The ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines for Coding and Reporting have also been expanded to provide more examples in the SDOH section. These updates aren’t surprising since, with increasing attention on population health and quality initiatives, organizations have turned their focus on SDOH and how capturing those ICD-10-CM codes impacts their patient population and their success in caring for that population.

Aside from the new ICD-10-CM codes from the CDC, CMS also implemented 34 new ICD-10-PCS procedure codes as part of a quarterly update to the code set (which also became effective April 1).

Because coding occurs mid-cycle, it provides an opportunity to catch errors introduced earlier in the process, as well as preventing similar errors in the future.

Staying abreast of these regulatory coding updates is important for revenue cycle leaders as coding—and its completeness and accuracy—has a profound impact on an organization's bottom line.