Talk Ten Tuesdays Focusing on New ICD-11 Codes

WHO team leader to weigh in on the new coding set.

The World Health Organization’s (WHO’s) Robert Jakob, MD is scheduled to appear on Talk Ten Tuesdays this morning, according to Chuck Buck, publisher of ICD10monitor and executive producer and program host of its marquee weekly Internet radio broadcast.

Dr. Jakob, team leader of classifications and terminologies for WHO, will be reporting on the codes of ICD-11: the new International Classification of Diseases code set that was unveiled last week and reported on by ICD10monitor.

Calling in live from Geneva, Switzerland, Jakob will also report on the major changes to the code set that will be formally presented at the World Health Assembly next May for adoption by member states, effective as soon as Jan. 1, 2022. The U.S. was a late adopter of ICD-10 codes, given that the WHO released them in 1993. It wasn’t until 2015 that the codes were implemented in this country, and even then, only following several years of delays by the federal government and fierce opposition from some professional organizations.

According to Buck, Dr. Jakob is expected to address a number of questions that are already emerging from healthcare stakeholders. Among those questions, for one, will there be more electronic tools from WHO to assist with understanding the new classification? Also, will the WHO publish a hardcopy (paper) ICD-11 book?

Notable among the new ICD-11 codes are those related to the Global Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance System (GLASS). The WHO indicated that the new code set is able to better capture data regarding safety in healthcare, which means that unnecessary events that may harm health – such as unsafe workflows in hospitals – can be identified and eliminated.
 
In addition, ICD-11 also includes a new chapter on sexual health. Originally, gender incongruence was listed under mental health conditions or described differently, according to the WHO. The organization also reported that “gaming disorder” has been added to the section on addictive disorders.

Senior healthcare consultant Laurie Johnson, an ICD10monitor contributor, will also report on the new ICD-11 codes.

The live broadcast will also feature Catherine Harrison-Restelli, MD, a psychiatrist with Sheppard Pratt Health System and chair of the Department of Psychiatry at Greater Baltimore Medical Center (GBMC). She works at the interface of psychiatry and medicine, caring for complex, medically ill patients admitted to the hospital and in integrating mental health, substance abuse, and primary care services.

“Nearly 30 percent of all patients with medical issues also have mental health issues,” Dr. Restelli said in an advance copy of her Tuesday remarks made available to ICD10monitor. “For many people, it’s difficult to find mental health resources in the community, or they don’t follow through with referrals to mental health professionals due to costs and stigmas. We are seeing the integration of behavioral health services into primary care settings, such as Sheppard Pratt Integrated Behavioral Health at GBMC – a program that integrates behavioral health services into patient-centered medical home primary care practices – to address these critical needs.”

Rounding out the broadcast, airing at 10 a.m. EST, will be nationally recognized social determinants of health (SdoH) expert Ellen Fink-Samnick, who will be reporting on a recent study at McLean Hospital that reveals how age, socioeconomic status, and other factors might contribute to social isolation and poorer mental health.

Program Note: For more information on the new ICD-11 codes, listen to Talk Ten Tuesdays today at 10 a.m. ET.  Click here to register now.