Coding Clinic FAQs
- 1. Why was the Coding Clinic format changed?
- 2. How were the Coding Clinics reviewed?
- 3. Some of the guidance in the Coding Clinics was updated at a later date, does this guidance still apply?
- 4. Has the Coding Clinic Collection been renamed?
- 5. Does the Coding Clinic only contain current guidance?
- 6. Is ICD-9 guidance included in the Coding Clinic?
- 7. Does superseded guidance still apply?
- 8. Has general information and information held within DSCNs been removed from the Coding Clinic?
- 9. Have Read Codes been included in the Coding Clinic?
- 10. Is there any other guidance from the Coding Clinic Collection which is not included in the Coding Clinic?
- 11. Can the original Coding Clinic Collection still be accessed on the NHS Classifications Service website?
- 12. Does the guidance in the Coding Clinic look and read the same as we are used to seeing?
- 13. What are the benefits to the user of the Coding Clinic?
1. Why was the Coding Clinic format changed?
The Coding Clinic has been published since 1992 and over time a large proportion of the guidance published has been superseded or updated in a later issue of the Coding Clinic, revision of the Clinical Coding Instruction Manuals, or an update to the ICD-10 and OPCS-4 classifications. This resulted in the Coding Clinics containing a combination of both current and obsolete guidance making it difficult to use. It also increased the risk that a user may incorrectly apply out of date national standards compromising clinical coding accuracy.
To ensure that Coding Clinic content is current and easily accessible the NHS Classifications Service undertook a major review to improve the format and usability of the Coding Clinic.
2. How were the Coding Clinics reviewed?
The review consisted of analysis of the content of every published Coding Clinic. All out of date guidance and that which was no longer relevant was identified and removed. In addition, all guidance which was duplicated in the Clinical Coding Instruction Manuals, and guidance that was out of date as a result of an update to ICD-10 or OPCS-4, was removed. Guidance that had been updated and that was available in more than one location was identified, see Question 3.
3. Some of the guidance in the Coding Clinics was updated at a later date, does this guidance still apply?
Yes, in the Coding Clinic the original guidance and the related update have been combined to form a single piece of guidance to avoid any confusion.
Example:
Dilation and curettage and Hysteroscopy: The original guidance was published in Coding Clinic January 1995 (Issue 18). Extra examples were released in Coding Clinic July 1996 (Issue 29). The original guidance and the update have been combined to form a single piece of guidance, see Ref 10: Dilation and curettage and Hysteroscopy.
4. Has the Coding Clinic Collection been renamed?
Yes, previously the published Coding Clinics together formed The Coding Clinic Collection. With the updated format The Coding Clinic Collection has been replaced entirely by a single compendium of current guidance, called the Coding Clinic.
5. Does the Coding Clinic only contain current guidance?
Yes, all guidance contained within the Coding Clinic is currently applicable when coding in the NHS. When guidance is no longer relevant it is removed from the Coding Clinic. In addition when the OPCS-4 Clinical Coding Instruction Manual and the ICD-10 Clinical Coding Standards reference book are updated any updates to standards published within the Coding Clinic are incorporated into the manual/reference book and removed from the Coding Clinic.
6. Is ICD-9 guidance included in the Coding Clinic?
No, ICD-9 was replaced by ICD-10 in April 1995 (DSCN 20/93). The classification and code structure used in ICD-9 was different to that used in the ICD-10 classification; subsequently codes and guidance published in relation to ICD-9 are not directly equivalent or transferrable to the ICD-10 Classification. Therefore, all references to, and guidance pertaining to, ICD-9 codes were identified during the review and are now excluded from the Coding Clinic.
7. Does superseded guidance still apply?
Superseded guidance must not be used and has been removed from the Coding Clinic. Only current guidance is published in the Coding Clinic.
Example:
Clinical coding requirements of admitted patient's care record following an Accident and Emergency attendance: First published in Coding Clinic November 2004 (Volume 1 Issue 3), the guidance was superseded in a subsequent Coding Clinic March 2010 (Volume 6 Issue 7). Therefore only the guidance published in March 2010 is included in the new Coding Clinic, see Ref 60: Clinical coding requirements of admitted patients' care record following an accident and emergency attendance in the Coding Clinic.
8. Has general information and information held within DSCNs been removed from the Coding Clinic?
Some of the previously published Coding Clinics contained non-technical information and information contained within DSCNs. Although this information is still applicable it is not included in the Coding Clinic.
A Data Set Change Notice (DSCN) is a notification to NHS organisations of mandatory (or other) changes to data collection requirements. On 01 April 2011 Information Standards Notices (ISN) replaced DSCNs. An ISN is a notice of an Information Standard approved by the Information Standards Board for Health and Social Care (ISB). From 01 April 2011 the ISB no longer made reference to the term Data Set Change Notice for new notifications.
Users may access the DSCNs related to ICD-10 and OPCS-4 classifications in the Library on the ISB website at http://www.isb.nhs.uk/isn.
9. Have Read Codes been included in the Coding Clinic?
No, Read Codes have not been provided in any Coding Clinic since April 2000.
10. Is there any other guidance from the Coding Clinic Collection which is not included in the Coding Clinic?
Yes, there are instances where clinical information regarding surgical procedures has been issued and published in the Coding Clinics before 1995. Research has indicated that with the advancement of medical/surgical technology many of the techniques described within the guidance may have changed and the information may no longer be accurate, or the procedures described may no longer be in current use. These have been excluded from the initial release of the Coding Clinic whilst clinical input is sought to advise on current clinical practice.
11. Can the original Coding Clinic Collection still be accessed on the NHS Classifications Service website?
The NHS Classifications Service has withdrawn earlier Coding Clinics. The Coding Clinic Collection is now a historical archive of previously published guidance. Coders will have built up a folder containing these previously published Coding Clinics so most hospital clinical coding departments will have access to these and may wish to use them for historical data analysis. Earlier versions of the Coding Clinic Collection (Nov 92-Mar11) may be requested from us by emailing our helpdesk, you will need to confirm the intended use which will help us to understand the use cases for the archive.
12. Does the guidance in the Coding Clinic look and read the same as we are used to seeing?
All of the coding principles described within the current guidance remains the same however during the review it was noticed that many of the titles were not a true reflection of the guidance. Therefore, many of the titles were slightly amended to better represent the content and aid the user in finding the appropriate guidance in the Coding Clinic as it is necessary to ensure that all guidance is presented consistently and accurately. We took this opportunity to review the content wording and minor amendments were made to make the guidance more reader-friendly and to reduce ambiguity.
13. What are the benefits to the user of the Coding Clinic?
Users will no longer have to spend time trawling through individual Coding Clinics to find the correct up to date guidance; they will be able to easily navigate to the accurate guidance in less time.
There will be no confusion as to whether the guidance in the Coding Clinic should be applied and the user can feel confident in the knowledge that the guidance contained in the Coding Clinic is current.