Catholic Health Initiatives collaborated with several healthcare organizations to develop and secure ICD-10 codes to help providers document sex and labor exploitation for the first time, the Englewood, Colo.-based health system announced July 17.
CHI collaborated with the American Hospital Association's Hospitals Against Violence initiative and clinicians at Boston-based Massachusetts General Hospital's Freedom Clinic to develop 29 human-trafficking-related codes. The CDC published the codes June 11, and they will take effect in October.
The codes, which the organizations spent 18 months developing, will be used identify and document confirmed and suspected cases of forced sexual and labor exploitation of children and adults who seek out treatment at a hospital or other medical facility.
CHI has initiated numerous efforts to prevent human trafficking. In Kentucky, the 101-hospital system helped pass state legislation providing training and safe harbor for victims and imposing stiffer penalties on human trafficking. In Houston, CHI has sought to unite healthcare providers and hospitals in sharing best practices to identify potential victims and provide care.
Providers can find more information on coding on the Hospitals Against Violence's human trafficking website, which is expected to launch later this month.