Coalition 4 ME/CFS – Letter to the Medical Community
October 25, 2011
Coalition 4 ME/CFS – Letter to the Medical Community
Post #109 Shortlink: http://wp.me/pKrrB-1kN
From Mike Munoz, via Co-Cure | October 25, 2011
On July 15, the Coalition 4 ME/CFS submitted a written proposal to the ICD-9-CM Coordination and Maintenance Committee to restore CFS to Chapter 6 “Diseases of the Nervous System” code G93.3 in the ICD-10 Clinical Modification (ICD-10-CM) in the US.
This action follows the September 2004, August 2005 and May 2011 recommendations of the federally-appointed Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Advisory Committee (CFSAC). In each case, the committee recommended that CFS be in the neurological classification in the ICD-10-CM, in line with the rest of the world.
On September 14, the Coalition 4 ME/CFS made an oral presentation to the committee and responded to concerns expressed by audience members.
The coalition has written a letter to clinicians, researchers and other medical professionals outlining the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) and the coalition option for modification
We have also included a sample letter for medical professionals and the public to give input rejecting NCHS’s option #2 in favor of the coalition’s proposal option
We are asking medical professionals to comment on this important issue before the comment period ends on November 18.
Medical professionals wanting to add their signature to the coalition’s prepared letter to NCHS that will be submitted prior to the November 18 deadline can contact Mike Munoz at info@coalition4MECFS.org
More information concerning the coalition and the ICD initiative can be found at
http://coalition4mecfs.org/ICD-Home.html
Website: http://coalition4mecfs.org/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/pages/Coalition-4-ME-CFS/126612960745896
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/Coalition4MECFS
Contact: info@coalition4MECFS.org
The PDF of the Letter to the Medical Community can also be downloaded from Dx Revision Watch here: Coalition 4 ME/CFS Letter to Medical Community
Related material:
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.govYou 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.]
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
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