Question

How the ICD is organized? Alphabetic Index and Tabular List of ICD

Answer 1

Their are two major parts of the ICD-10-CM code set which are the Alphabetic Index and Tabular list.

The Tabular List is a chronological list of ICD-10-CM codes divided into chapters based on body system or condition. Every Tabular List chapter is divided into sections with titles that indicate the types of associated diseases or conditions they cover. The diseases and injuries in the Tabular List are organized into chapters according to diagnosis or body system.The Alphabetic Index contains all the medical terms in the Tabular List categorization. It is important to use both the Alphabetic Index and Tabular List when searching and assigning a code. When the Alphabetic Index indicates the possible need for two codes, the Tabular List entry is used to determine whether they are actually needed.

The Alphabetic Index may not always provide the full code. In some cases, it list common terms that won't be found in the Tabular List. Many terms sometimes appear more than once in the Alphabetic Index. Often, the term in common use is listed as well as the approved medical terminology. The main term for the patient’s primary diagnosis is located in the Alphabetic Index, but the code for the main term is placed in the Tabular List.

Problems that might occur if proper coding procedures aren’t used can be a rejected claim. A rejected claim is a claim that contains one or many errors found before the claim is processed. These errors prevent the insurance company from paying the bill as it is composed, and the rejected claim is returned to the biller in order to be corrected. The medical biller is the one responsible to make certain that the claims are done accurately. To ensure that the provider is properly reimbursed for their services. In reaching this goal, errors, both human and electronic, are unfortunately unavoidable.