Course: Use of and Comorbidities Associated With Diagnostic Codes for COVID-19 in US Health Insurance Claims
CME Credits: 1.00
Released: 2021-09-08
Accurate identification of COVID-19 diagnosis in patient medical records is essential for studies using administrative data to examine morbidity, mortality, and risk factors associated with COVID-19. Before April 1, 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggested using the existing International Statistical Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-10-CM) code B97.29 (other coronavirus as the cause of diseases classified elsewhere) as the primary diagnostic code for patients infected with COVID-19. On April 1, 2020, a new code U07.1 (2019-nCoV acute respiratory disease) was added to ICD-10-CM and was rapidly adopted by hospitals. Our study examined how nonhospital and hospital health care professionals have used these diagnostic codes in practice using a national medical claims data set in the US. We analyzed the comorbidities associated with COVID-19 diagnosis to assess the specificity of the legacy code and the importance of using both codes.
Educational Objective
To identify the key insights or developments described in this article
View Full Course