Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) Practice Exam

What is the purpose of the ICD-9-CM Coordination and Maintenance Committee?

1. Convert ICD codes to CPT codes

2. Maintain a crosswalk between ICD-9-CM and ICD-10-CM

3. Oversight of insurance claims

4. Develop new medical coding standards

The correct answer is: Maintain a crosswalk between ICD-9-CM and ICD-10-CM

The ICD-9-CM Coordination and Maintenance Committee plays a crucial role in healthcare administration by maintaining a crosswalk between ICD-9-CM and ICD-10-CM. This is essential for ensuring a smooth transition between the two coding systems, particularly since the United States moved from ICD-9 to ICD-10. The committee helps to facilitate the understanding and use of these coding systems among healthcare providers and organizations by providing guidelines that assist in appropriate coding practices. Maintaining the crosswalk allows healthcare professionals to accurately translate diagnoses from the older ICD-9 system to the newer ICD-10 system, which is vital for billing purposes, data collection, and healthcare analytics. This ensures that there is continuity in reporting and tracking health information, which is important for both patient care and regulatory compliance. The other options do not accurately reflect the primary focus of the committee. Converting ICD codes to CPT codes relates to different coding systems used for procedures rather than diagnosis. Oversight of insurance claims is a broader responsibility typically managed by insurers or regulatory bodies rather than a specific committee dedicated to coding. Developing new medical coding standards falls outside the committee's purview, as it focuses specifically on maintaining existing coding systems rather than creating new ones.