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Intermediate Technical IVT

ICD-10-CM

Pronunciation: I-C-D ten C-M

Also written as: ICD-10-CM — International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision, Clinical Modification

International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision, Clinical Modification; the US diagnostic coding system used for billing and documentation of mental and physical health diagnoses.

Full Definition

ICD-10-CM is the clinical adaptation of the WHO's ICD-10 used in the United States for coding diagnoses in all healthcare settings, including community mental health. Mental health diagnoses fall under Chapter 5 (F codes, e.g., F20.9 for unspecified schizophrenia). Editors working on clinical notes, billing documents, and outcome reports must ensure that ICD-10-CM codes are rendered correctly—with the hyphen between '10' and 'CM,' in the correct alphanumeric format, and not confused with DSM-5 diagnostic names. The ICD-11 is the current international version, but ICD-10-CM remains the US billing standard.

Usage

Usage note: Always include the hyphen between '10' and 'CM.' Do not conflate with DSM-5 diagnostic labels; ICD-10-CM codes are used for billing while DSM-5 provides diagnostic criteria. In non-US documents, plain 'ICD-10' or 'ICD-11' may apply.

In Context

  • "The billing team flagged that the ICD-10-CM code entered in the claim did not match the narrative diagnosis in the clinical note." — Billing compliance review
  • "All ICD-10-CM diagnostic codes must be listed in descending order of clinical significance on the encounter form." — Clinical documentation training manual

Also known as

ICD-10 codes diagnostic codes

Don't confuse with

DSM-5 CPT code ICD-11

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