What is the difference between ICD-9 and ICD-10?

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ICD-9 and ICD-10 are medical coding systems used to classify diseases and health conditions, but they differ significantly in structure, detail, and usage.

1. Code Structure

• ICD-9:

  • 3–5 digits

  • Mostly numeric (with a few alphanumeric codes in procedures)

  • Example: 250.00 (Diabetes mellitus without complications)

• ICD-10:

  • 3–7 characters

  • Alphanumeric (first character is a letter)

  • Example: E11.9 (Type 2 diabetes mellitus without complications)

2. Specificity and Detail

• ICD-9 has limited detail and fewer codes (~13,000 diagnosis codes).

• ICD-10 is much more specific, with ~68,000 diagnosis codes, allowing better documentation of patient conditions.

3. Flexibility

• ICD-10 includes laterality (left/right), encounter type (initial, subsequent), and combination codes for related conditions—features missing in ICD-9.

• ICD-10’s expanded format supports evolving healthcare needs and more detailed analytics.

4. Usage

• ICD-9: Used in the U.S. until October 1, 2015.

• ICD-10: Current standard in most of the world, including the U.S., for both diagnosis (ICD-10-CM) and inpatient procedures (ICD-10-PCS).

ICD-10 provides greater accuracy for billing, research, and healthcare planning than ICD-9.

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