ICD-9-CM CHANGES EXTENSIVE FOR 2005

The update season has officially begun now that the fiscal year 2005 code revisions have been released. The revisions, which become effective for Medicare claims on October 1, 2004—and with no grace period as in past years—will affect every specialty, some harder than others.

It is important for practices to begin assessing how these revisions will affect current operations now so that these changes can be implemented October 1, particularly since there is no grace period for Medicare claims this year.

This year, changes total the following:

171 new diagnosis codes
203 revised diagnosis codes
25 invalid diagnosis codes
18 revised procedure codes
54 new procedure codes