The new code sets offer greater specificity in identifying health conditions.

On October 1, the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-10) replaced the ICD-9 code sets used by private practices, hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, and other provider settings across the United States to report diagnoses and inpatient procedures. While ICD-10 was developed more than 20 years ago and has been in use for years in many countries, the United States has been slow to adopt and implement it. The transition from ICD 9-to ICD-10 is long overdue, as ICD-9 dated to 1979 and neither reflected advances in medical knowledge and technology nor had the growth capacity to accommodate those advances.