Medical Coding is about to Change

I have begun to prepare to possibly take the examination for the AHIMA Registered Health Information Administrator (RHIA) certificate. In reviewing the study questions it is apparent that I need to become more familiar with medical terminology and the standard by which medical conditions and treatments are coded.  The present standard is ICD-9.  There are about 17,000 codes for various medical conditions and treatments.  When the new standard ICD-10 becomes required in October of 2013 there will be about 140,000 codes.  Whoa!  And the formatting of the codes will change.  This surely spells challenge or opportunity, according to whether you are a person with a "glass half empty" or a "glass have full" perspective.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LihXPo6iFxI&NR=1

Codes are critically important to making our complex "system" work.  If the code isn't right the physicians and hospitals are not going to get the correct funding from insurance companies and the government.  Incorrect or incomplete coding causes denials of claims, which is a major headache for everyone involved.  It seems that today everything is increasingly all about information.  I need to reflect at lot more about the implications for careers in the near and distant future.  Medical services are surely a major growth area in the U.S. and beyond.  And medical informatics is surely a promising area for those who are interested in medicine but don't want to actually work directly with patients and families.