Presentation Format:
Innovative/Promising Practice Program Report

Description:
Currently documentation of domestic violence by physicians is poor. The current classification system, the ICD-9, used by medical coders and billers, is an inherently flawed tool for documenting DV. Too few codes exist and those that do are linked to lower reimbursements than for DV-associated symptoms. Proposed regulations would require upgrading to ICD-10 code sets, effective October 2013. A comparison of the ICD-9 and ICD-10 coding systems suggests opportunities to enhance research and health care reimbursement for DV.