Once upon a diagnosis: Why coding the patient’s story is vital
Effective Aug 20, 2026
Published Aug 24, 2026
Last Reviewed Aug 20, 2026
Ever since the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) was introduced, its purpose has been clear: to capture the reason for a patient’s visit across all health care settings. As outlined in the first paragraph of the ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines for Coding and Reporting, diagnosis coding is intended to describe the patient’s condition using terminology that “includes specific diagnoses as well as symptoms, problems, and reasons for the encounter.”
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