The Oct. 1 implementation of ICD-10 is fast approaching. In this video podcast, Dr. Charles Roberts, EVP/Executive Medical Director and Jill Harrelson, Director-Health Information Management (HIM), talk with host Jason Newland, MD, about why Children’s Mercy must be ready to transition from ICD-9 to ICD-10 by that date. ICD-10 refers to the codes the health-care industry uses to describe diagnoses and treatment and, ultimately, who gets paid for doing what. As Dr. Roberts succinctly summarizes the in the podcast: “No money, no mission.”But compensation isn’t the only important issue involved in ICD-10. The increased specificity that will be required in the updated medical coding will lead to improved quality of research and ultimately improve the clinical care we provide. The current system is ICD-9, which has about 14,000 codes. ICD-10, which is much more descriptive and accommodates new diseases and procedures, has about 68,000 codes. Collaboration between clinicians and medical coders will be essential to a successful transition.