AAPC Releases ICD-10 Code Conversion Tool, Now Available to the General Public
- By admin aapc
- In AAPC News
- October 20, 2009
- Comments Off on AAPC Releases ICD-10 Code Conversion Tool, Now Available to the General Public
SALT LAKE CITY—Oct. 20, 2009—The American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC, www.aapc.com) has released its ICD-10-CM online code conversion tool, which is now available online at www.aapc.com/icd-10/codes. This valuable tool allows users to convert (or “map”) ICD-9-CM codes to ICD-10-CM codes (and vice versa) based on the General Equivalency Mapping (GEM) files published by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
The tool is free and available to the general public with no access code or password required. Developed by the AAPC, this tool is expected to be a huge resource to medical coders and health care professionals as they begin to transition to the new ICD-10 system.
“This conversion tool is critical for health care professionals, and now is the time to become familiar with the code conversions,” said Deborah Grider, CPC, CPC-H, CPC-I, CPC-H, CPC-P, vice president of strategic development at the AAPC. “We have made this tool available to simplify the GEMs files into an easy-to-use format and to aid medical coders in their training and progress toward implementation with the looming Oct. 1, 2013 compliance date.”
As a disclaimer, the AAPC advises those using the tool to keep in mind that while many ICD-9 codes map directly to ICD-10 codes, some may require a clinical analysis to determine which code or codes should be selected for the appropriate mapping.
ICD-10 is part of the international standard diagnostic classification for all general epidemiological, many health management purposes and clinical uses. ICD-10 differs from its predecessor, ICD-9, in that it contains more than 155,000 codes—nearly 10 times the number of codes in the ICD-9 set. The change to the new system, as mandated by the Department of Health and Human Services, will be the most challenging transition since the inception of coding. To aid the health care industry through this transition, the AAPC has dedicated a team of its coding experts to develop and lead trainings for health plans, providers and facilities. More information about the AAPC’s ICD-10 involvement and training programs is available online at www.aapc.com/ICD-10.
- Do You Have a Documentation Emergency? - April 3, 2023
- Correctly Identify Low Back Pain - March 1, 2023
- How to Optimize the RCM Process - February 1, 2023
800-626-2633
