The International Classification of Diseases (ICD) is the international standard diagnostic classification for all general epidemiological purposes, many health management purposes, and for clinical use. This includes the analysis of the general health situation of population groups, as well as monitoring the incidence and prevalence of diseases and other health problems in relation to other variables such as the characteristics and circumstances of the individuals affected, reimbursement, resource allocation, quality, and guidelines.
ICD-9 code sets have been in use since 1979 with annual revisions. ICD-10 was endorsed by the 43rd World Health Assembly in May 1990 and came into use in World Health Organization (WHO) States in 1994. The USA is one of the few developed countries that have not transitioned to ICD-10-CM and ICD-10-PCS.
In August 2008, the Department of Health & Human Services proposed that new code sets be used for reporting diagnoses and procedures on health care transactions in the United States. The Proposed Rule was published for review on August 22, 2008. On January 15, 2009, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) published a final rule establishing ICD-10 as the new national coding standard. The implementation date has been set for October 1, 2013.
* An electronic copy of the Final Rule can be found here.