A Comprehensive Approach to Convert a Radiology Department From Coding Based on International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, to Coding Based on International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to adapt our radiology reports to provide the documentation required for specific International Classification of Diseases, tenth rev (ICD-10) diagnosis coding. Materials and MethodsBaseline data were analyzed to identify the reports with the greatest number of unspecified ICD-10 codes assigned by computer-assisted coding software. A two-part quality improvement initiative was subsequently implemented. The first component involved improving clinical histories by utilizing technologists to obtain information directly from the patients or caregivers, which was then imported into the radiologist’s report within the speech recognition software. The second component involved standardization of report terminology and creation of four different structured report templates to determine which yielded the fewest reports with an unspecified ICD-10 code assigned by an automated coding engine. ResultsIn all, 12,077 reports were included in the baseline analysis. Of these, 5,151 (43%) had an unspecified ICD-10 code. The majority of deficient reports were for radiographs (n = 3,197; 62%). Inadequacies included insufficient clinical history provided and lack of detailed fracture descriptions. Therefore, the focus was standardizing terminology and testing different structured reports for radiographs obtained for fractures. At baseline, 58% of radiography reports contained a complete clinical history with improvement to >95% 8 months later. The total number of reports that contained an unspecified ICD-10 code improved from 43% at baseline to 27% at completion of this study (P < .0001). ConclusionThe number of radiology studies with a specific ICD-10 code can be improved through quality improvement methodology, specifically through the use of technologist-acquired clinical histories and structured reporting.