ICD-10-PCS Medical Procedure Codes

The ICD-10 Procedure Coding System (ICD-10-PCS) is a system of medical classification used for procedural codes.  The National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) received permission from the World Health Organization (WHO), the body responsible for publishing the International Classification of Diseases to create the ICD-10-PCS as a successor to Volume 3 of ICD-9-CM and a clinical modification of the original ICD-10.  The original draft was completed in 2000, and is has been updated for 2009.  It will follow the same implementation as ICD-10-CM.

The new procedure coding system uses 7 alpha or numeric digits. The current system, ICD-9-CM volume 3 (International Classification of Diseases, 9th Edition, Clinical Modification, does not provide the necessary detail on either patients' medical conditions or on procedures performed on hospitalized patients.  ICD-9-CM is 30 years old, has outdated and obsolete terminology, uses outdated codes that produce inaccurate and limited data, and is inconsistent with current medical practice.  It cannot accurately describe the diagnoses and inpatient procedures of care delivered in the 21st century.  ICD-10-PCS will make the US current with the rest of the developed world.