AMA Delegates Voice Disdain for ICD-10 Transition

American Medical Association delegates have been vocal about their disdain for ICD-10, voicing opinions that the transition to the coding system will impose unnecessary and significant burdens on the practice of medicine, according to a General Surgery News report.

During the Legislative Advocacy Committee meeting, delegates said they view the new system as overly complex, expensive and worthless in terms of improving patient care. Mike Green, MD, of Macon, Ga., said, "It doesn't take an expert in coding to review this and ask, 'Do we really need to know what kind of dog bit you to be able to code a dog bite?'"

Jeff Terry, MD, a urologist from Mobile, Ala., said, "ICD-10 does nothing to improve the care of our patients. It simply adds unnecessary paperwork, time and expense to our practices."

Members pointed out that ICD-10 is projected to cost $83,000 for a three-physician office and $285,000 for a 10-person group, an expense that many physicians said will leave their practice financially unstable.

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