The HITECH Act, which included changes to the HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules, was signed into law by President Obama in February 2009?a full five years ago.
The role of the utilization review (UR) committee has changed as facilities transition from reporting condition code 44 for concurrent reviews to condition code W2 for post-discharge reviews.
The ears--more formally, the auditory system--have their own chapter in ICD-10-CM, no longer relegated to the end of the neurology codes. Codes in Chapter 8, Diseases of the Ear and Mastoid Process (H60-H95), are located between the chapters for the optical system and the circulatory system.
When outpatient hospitals and physicians switch to ICD-10-CM diagnosis codes October 1, they will still continue to use CPT® codes to report procedures. But some facilities are planning to use the new procedure code set, ICD-10-PCS, as well.
