Part of physicians’ daily routines is the recording of their impressions, diagnoses, or reasons for patient en-counters as part of the medical record. One patient may have had a cold; another an ear infection; while still a third may have needed counseling about a child’s behavior. This information must be translated into a common language for statistical tracking and billing. That is where the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM) comes in. ICD-9-CM allows for the categorization and statistical collection of information about diseases and injuries in the United States. See Table 1 for a list of codes that affect pediatrics.
Based on the World Health Organization Manual of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases, Injuries, and Causes of Death, Ninth Revision, ICD-9-CM allows for tracking and communicating health care information between health care providers and those with whom they work. The diagnosis portion of the system...
