Some physicians blame the advent of ICD-10 for inconsistencies in diagnosing opioid withdrawal symptoms in babies exposed to narcotics in the womb, physicians told Orlando Sentinel.
Here are five things to know.
1. Florida saw the number of newborns exposed to opioids in the womb increase to 2,500-plus cases between 2015 and 2016, a 200 percent change. However, the number of babies diagnosed with neonatal abstinence syndrome fell 68 cases to 1,468 during the same period.
2. Mark Hudak, MD, chairman and professor of pediatrics at University of Florida College of Medicine in Jacksonville, told Orlando Sentinel "[state officials] need to issue a bulletin to hospitals and tell them how to code this. The coding is becoming more complicated … and it's a challenge for everybody."
3. ICD-9 — the coding system used before ICD-10's 2015 implementation — featured a code for exposure to narcotics in the womb; however, ICD-10 does not have a corresponding code. Instead, ICD-10 has a more general code referring to exposure to "other drugs," according to the report. Russell Kirby, PhD, the Marrell Endowed Chair at the Department of Community and Family Health at Tampa-based University of South Florida, said, "The problem is that we don't know about the comparability of the codes. That's probably something we need to evaluate."
4. Neonatal experts in West Virginia are seeking new opioid-specific neonatal codes for the ICD-10 system. The West Virginia Perinatal Partnership, a Charleston, W.Va.-based nonprofit organization, created a definition for neonatal abstinence syndrome and traveled to every West Virginia hospital with a delivery unit to talk about the definition and proper coding techniques.
5. The West Virginia Perinatal Partnership is also requesting the American Academy of Pediatrics add medical codes identifying the syndrome more accurately to ICD-10. The new codes, if approved by federal officials, could be used beginning in late 2018, the report states.