Diagnosis coding corner: Familiarize your staff with ICD-10 manual now to prevent code delays next year

Why This Topic Matters

The article helps organizations prepare staff for ICD-10 by highlighting conventions that can affect code lookup, documentation review, and timely code assignment.

Article Sections

1. Preparing staff for ICD-10

   Introduces the need to become familiar with the ICD-10 manual and its conventions before implementation. Emphasizes staff readiness and general transition preparation.

2. Placeholder character and code structure

   Discusses the placeholder character and the way certain codes are structured in ICD-10. Includes general discussion of code formatting concepts.

3. Excludes notes in ICD-10

   Explains the two kinds of exclude notes used in the manual and the general purpose of each type. References how these notes appear in tabular guidance.

4. Examples from the dorsopathy chapter

   Uses chapter examples to show how exclude notes may appear across related code groupings. Focuses on dorsopathy-related coding references and chapter navigation.

5. Alphabetic Index and tabular conventions

   Reviews common instructional words and notes used in the ICD-10 Alphabetic Index and Tabular List. Covers general terminology used to locate and interpret codes.