Everything but Stupidity

If you’ve recently worked in a health care setting, you’ll be familiar with ICD-10: the International Classification of Disease.

ICD-codes are supposed to be of massive benefit in hospitals for pricing, statistics and confidentiality-purposes. It’s also a huge schlep, because there are massive volumes of books containing all the codes, so a lot of the doctors simply refuse to use them.

Little Sister is job-shadowing an Occupational Therapist. Says the OT, while trying to convince her staff to use the codes:

There is a code for everything. Even for falling off the toilet! But not for stupidity. Because changing a light bulb on a glass table-top is stupid.

Medical Aids love ICD-codes, and they have recently started refusing coverage unless the practitioner uses codes.

I have to wonder if it’s worth it though? It seems like an awful lot of paperwork to me.