This presentation was given to the Austin Chapter of the American Association of Professional Coders on Thursday, November 20th, 2014.
An overview of the discussion is provided here:
This discussion will highlight the differences between ICD and SNOMED CT, two medical coding terminologies that are designed for different purposes. SNOMED CT was designed specifically for use by clinical health information systems such as electronic health records, and it has the ability to capture information at a very specific and detailed level. The World Health Organization is in the process of integrating SNOMED CT with ICD-11, which makes it likely that SNOMED CT will be the leading international coding system in the near future. ICD-9-CM and ICD-10-CM are designed as classification systems required for reimbursement, and have significantly different structures and usage requirements than SNOMED CT. The differences between the content coverage, structure and future uses of each of these coding terminologies and opportunities related to SNOMED CT for coding professionals will be discussed.
Brief Presenter Bio: Michael Stearns, CPC, CFPC, MD is the CEO and founder of Apollo HIT, LLC, a company that provides health information technology, coding, auditing and compliance services to healthcare stakeholders. Dr. Stearns has a background in academic medicine and medical informatics. He provided leadership to the teams that formed SNOMED CT and has extensive experience in the electronic health record industry. He is also a certified professional coder and certified family practice coder. Dr. Stearns was the founding board president of the Texas e-Health Alliance, a group that advises the Texas legislature on matter related to health information technology. He was also the founder of the University of Texas at Austin Health Information Technology Certificate Program, where he serves as a member of this programs curriculum committee and as a guest lecturer.
The presentation is available here: SNOMED CT vs. ICD-10-CM AAPC Chapter Meeting 11-20-14