Medical Coding Education Provider Gearing Up for ICD-10-CM Release

July 10, 2015 - Tucson, AZ – LS Coding & Education, a leading provider of medical coding distance learning programs, is pleased to announce the availability of its ICD-10-CM Diagnosis Coding Course. The course helps prepare existing and prospective Certified Professional Coders to use the ICD-10-CM, which will be released October 15, 2015.

Utilizing the American Medical Association (AMA) ICD-10-CM Coding Workbook, second edition, the course teaches students how to code using the new ICD-10-CM Diagnosis Codes and how to navigate the ICD-10-CM Code Book.

The ICD-10-CM will bring sweeping changes to medical coding, as the codes in the new system are fundamentally different from those in the ICD-9-CM. For example, ICD-9-CM codes lack specificity about the exact location of an injury. The ICD-10-CM will add thousands more codes in an effort to increase accuracy, and reduce medical coding errors and omissions that can result in overpayment or underpayment to medical providers.

The ICD-10-CM has a longer, more detailed structure and includes category, etiology, anatomic site, and severity of the disease or injury in question, as well as combination codes. ICD-10-CM contains approximately 70,000 Diagnosis Codes three to seven characters in length, compared to ICD-9-CM, which contains approximately 13,000 Diagnosis Code Sets three to five characters in length.

Given the changes and added code sets introduced in ICD-10-CM, additional training is highly recommended. Medical coders will need to prepare to use both ICD-9-CM Diagnosis codes for certain payers and the new ICD-10-CM Diagnosis codes for most other payers. Certified Coders will be required to pass the AAPC's proficiency test to retain certification by December 31, 2015. To learn more about the ICD-10-CM coding course offered by LS Coding & Education, visit www.certifiedcodertraining.com/icd-10-coding-class/.

About LS Coding & Education LLC
LS Coding & Education LLC offers distance learning programs to assist individuals who are interested in becoming a Certified Professional Coder (CPC) and Certified Professional Coder Hospital Outpatient (COC). The distance learning programs allow students to learn medical coding from the comfort of their own homes, 24/7. LS Coding uses the AAPC Professional Medical Coding Curriculum, which is considered the gold standard in the industry. To learn more about the different programs and courses offered by LS Coding & Education LLC, visit the company's website.