The History of Medical Coding

Medical coding involves creating numeric and alphanumeric codes for each type of medical conditions and procedures, for easy classification. The history of this practice dates farther back than some may think, to the 17 century in Great Britain for the London Bills of Mortality. The medical codes are also for surgeries, drugs and treatments. The medical coding industry is growing all the time, making it imperative for professionals to train in this field.

History

In the year 1893, a system was created for the classification of deaths, by the International Statistical Institute. The list was created by Jacque Bertillon, a Paris statistician. It was named the Bertillon Classification. Twenty-six countries began to use is in 1900. Then in 1928, there was a discussion held about how the Bertillon Classification can be enhanced to have codes for diseases as well.



The WHO, or World Health Organization, started the process of enhancing this to include causes of diseases on a global scale (in 1949). The list was revised every decade.

Types

The medical code system that is in America is based on three different types, ICD, CPT and HCPCS. CPT was created in 1966 by the American Medical Association. Level 2 of CPT was introduced in the 1980s. ICD was first created for processing stats based on death. Now, it analyzes and tracks diseases.

Importance

Just about everyone has been subject to the medical coding system of the health care industry. It is used for health insurance coverage and billing. It shows who's a good risk for getting coverage from a said health insurance company. It is placed in a form that shows which procedures and treatments were provided to the patient, so that it is known how much the physician has to be reimbursed.