Extracts: ICD-9-CM Coordination and Maintenance Committee Meeting Summary document (CFS coding)

Extracts: ICD-9-CM Coordination and Maintenance Committee Meeting Summary of Diagnosis Presentations September 14, 2011 (CFS Coding)

Post #104 Shortlink: http://wp.me/pKrrB-1iN

You can download an Audio of the September 14 NCHS meeting here: http://www.cms.gov/ICD9ProviderDiagnosticCodes/Downloads/091411_Meeting_Audio.zip

[Note this is a large Zipped file.  The section for discussions on CFS coding starts at 2 hours 27 minutes in from start and ends at 3 hours 02 minutes.]

Summary of Volumes 1 and 2, Diagnosis Presentations
September 14, 2011

http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/icd/icd9cm_maintenance.htm

http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/icd9/2011SeptemberSummary.pdf

Donna Pickett, co-chair of the committee, welcomed the members of the audience to the diagnosis portion of the meeting. She reviewed the timeline included at the beginning of the topic packet informing the attendees of the deadline for written comments on topics presented at this meeting. All diagnosis topics presented during the meeting are being considered for October 1, 2013 implementation.

Written comments must be received by NCHS staff by November 18, 2011. Ms. Pickett requested that comments be sent via electronic mail to the following email address nchsicd9CM@cdc.gov since regular mail is often delayed. Contact information for all NCHS staff and the NCHS website are included in the topic packet. Attendees were also reminded that the full topic packet is currently posted on the NCHS website.

[…]

Page 2

Comments and discussion on the topics presented on September 14, 2011 were as follows:

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Mary Dimmock representing the Coalition 4 ME/CFS gave a presentation on the Coalition’s understanding of myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) and chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) as well as their proposal. They presented additional options for coding of these two diagnoses. NCHS responded that since they were not aware of this additional option, until today’s meeting, the proposal would remain with the two options offered (one from NCHS and one from the requestor).

There were many comments from the audience including the following:

There was general support for NCHS proposed option 2, moving CFS to ICD-10-CM Chapter 6, Diseases of the Nervous System but retaining separate codes for CFS vs. ME. Reasons given for retaining separate codes included agreement that it is important to retain ability to do data extraction on the two conditions separately vs. combining them if desired. In addition, the CFS may not always be able to be identified as postviral.

Though the requestor had asked to have the term “benign” deleted from inclusion term “benign myalgic encephalomyelitis,” NCHS indicated it should remain somewhere at G93.3 to maintain compatibility with WHO ICD-10. Comments on this indicated that it should be added to proposed new code G93.31 with benign as a nonessential modifier.

[Ed: It was suggested at the meeting that the modifier “Benign” might appear in parentheses at the end of  “Myalgic encephalomyelitis”.]

It was recommended to change the excludes2 note, at proposed new code G93.32, to an exludes1 since it is not likely that one would have both chronic fatigue syndrome and a chronic fatigue, NOS from some other condition. There is no need to code chronic fatigue NOS separate from the CFS.

There was a general question asked about how this request can be considered for October 1, 2012 since it is not a new disease. There was also general support that if the change is approved to move CFS from Chapter 18, code R53.82, to a code within Chapter 6 it should occur in time for the October 1, 2013 implementation of ICD-10-CM.

There was general agreement, by those in the audience, that the term “myalgic encephalomyelitis” is not seen in medical records.

One commenter, representing Coalition4 ME/CFS indicated that ME and CFS should not be separated since it goes against the definition of the 2011 ME ICC (an international committee). Her opinion was that treatment is the same for both conditions, literature refers to ME and CFS together, and that the U.S. is behind the international recognition of these two conditions being the same.

[…]

The audience was asked to carefully review the proposals following the meeting and to submit written comments by the November 18, 2011 deadline.

[Extract ends]

Comments on proposals need to be submitted by November 18.

Comments from stakeholders, preferably via email, should be submitted to:

Donna Pickett RHIA, MPH
Medical Classification Administrator
National Center for Health Statistics – CDC
3311Toledo Road Hyattsville, MD 20782
Via email: nchsicd9CM@cdc.gov

Related material:

1] Full NCHS meeting Proposals document:

http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/icd9/TopicpacketforSept2011a.pdf

2] Full NCHS meeting Summary document:

http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/icd9/2011SeptemberSummary.pdf

3] Post: Coding CFS in ICD-10-CM: CFSAC and the Coalition4ME/CFS initiative

4] Post: Extracts: ICD-9-CM Coordination and Maintenance Committee Meeting September 14, 2011 (Coding of CFS in ICD-10-CM)