A major shift in the reporting of transgender issues is at hand.
They’re here, but it won’t be until sometime until after 2022 that the United States is expected to adopt the codes of ICD-11 – the new International Classification of Diseases, Version 11 – released yesterday by the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva.
According to the WHO, the ICD-11 codes will be presented at the World Health Assembly next May for adoption by member states and could become effective as soon as Jan. 1, 2022. The U.S. was a late adopter of ICD-10 codes, given that the WHO released them in 1993.
“I am really excited to see the release of ICD-11,” wrote Laurie Johnson in an email to ICD10monitor. “I say that knowing that it will take the U.S. four to six years to clinically modify ICD-11, which is standard process. I hope that the U.S. will convert faster than they did for ICD-10.”
The release yesterday by the WHO is a preview of the new codes, intended to allow countries to plan to use the new version and train health professionals, according to a news release posted on the WHO website.
Notable among the new ICD-11 codes are those related to the Global Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance System (GLASS). The WHO also indicated that the new code set is able to better capture data regarding safety in healthcare, which means that unnecessary events that may harm health – such as unsafe workflows in hospitals – can be identified and eliminated.
ICD-11 also includes a new chapter on sexual health. Originally, gender incongruence was listed under mental health conditions or described differently, according to the WHO.
“Transgender disorders are being recommended to switch out of mental disorders to sexual disorders in ICD-11,” wrote psychiatrist H. Steven Moffic in an email to ICD10monitor. “This is major, and I had started to recommend this (change) at least a decade ago, when I was medical director of a clinic specializing in this (subject).”
Moffic said that if ICD-11 does indeed move the diagnosis of “gender incongruence” from a classification of mental health to sexual health, this may turn out to be a positive game changer for those people and their loved ones. Moffic said that those who have “gender incongruence” are generally perfectly happy with who they are, happiness that is only impaired by the current stigma.
“As a former medical director of a clinic specializing in this challenge, I’ve actually been saying it for years now, because it would invariably reduce the stigma associated with it being considered a mental health disorder, said Moffic. “The disorder is really more of a social disorder, in the sense of many modern-day societies needing to accept these natural, in-born, and fluid variations in gender identity,” Moffic continued.
The WHO reported that gaming disorder has been added to the section on addictive disorders.
“A key principle in this revision was to simplify the coding structure and electronic tooling – this will allow healthcare professionals to more easily and completely record conditions,” said Dr. Robert Jakob, team leader of classifications terminologies and standards at WHO.
Continue to check back with ICD10monitor.com for more reporting on the new ICD-11 codes.
Resources:
http://www.who.int/classifications/icd/en/
Healthcare has been transitioning toward a more digital, interconnected ecosystem for many years, but the pace and magnitude of current changes represent a fundamental shift.
H.R. 1 doesn’t directly rewrite ICD-10 or CPT, but it does change the environment in which you’re coding. The impact is mostly indirect – through
Please log in to your account to comment on this article.
Accurately determining the principal diagnosis is critical for compliant billing, appropriate reimbursement, and valid quality reporting — yet it remains one of the most subjective and error-prone areas in inpatient coding. In this expert-led session, Cheryl Ericson, RN, MS, CCDS, CDIP, demystifies the complexities of principal diagnosis assignment, bridging the gap between coding rules and clinical reality. Learn how to strengthen your organization’s coding accuracy, reduce denials, and ensure your documentation supports true medical necessity.
Denials continue to delay reimbursement, increase administrative burden, and threaten financial stability across healthcare organizations. This essential webcast tackles the root causes—rising payer scrutiny, fragmented workflows, inconsistent documentation, and underused analytics—and offers proven, data-driven strategies to prevent and overturn denials. Attendees will gain practical tools to strengthen documentation and coding accuracy, engage clinicians effectively, and leverage predictive analytics and AI to identify risks before they impact revenue. Through real-world case examples and actionable guidance, this session empowers coding, CDI, and revenue cycle professionals to shift from reactive appeals to proactive denial prevention and revenue protection.
Sepsis remains one of the most frequently denied and contested diagnoses, creating costly revenue loss and compliance risks. In this webcast, Angela Comfort, DBA, MBA, RHIA, CDIP, CCS, CCS-P, provides practical, real-world strategies to align documentation with coding guidelines, reconcile Sepsis-2 and Sepsis-3 definitions, and apply compliant queries. You’ll learn how to identify and address documentation gaps, strengthen provider engagement, and defend diagnoses against payer scrutiny—equipping you to protect reimbursement, improve SOI/ROM capture, and reduce audit vulnerability in this high-risk area.
Only ICD10monitor delivers what you need: updates on must-know changes associated with the FY26 IPPS, including new ICD-10-CM/PCS codes, CCs/MCCs, and MS-DRGs, plus insights, analysis and answers to your questions from two of the country’s most respected subject matter experts.
As AI reshapes healthcare compliance, the risk of biased outputs and opaque decision-making grows. This webcast, led by Frank Cohen, delivers a practical Four-Pillar Governance Framework—Transparency, Accountability, Fairness, and Explainability—to help you govern AI-driven claim auditing with confidence. Learn how to identify and mitigate bias, implement robust human oversight, and document defensible AI review processes that regulators and auditors will accept. Discover concrete remedies, from rotation protocols to uncertainty scoring, and actionable steps to evaluate vendors before contracts are signed. In a regulatory landscape that moves faster than ever, gain the tools to stay compliant, defend your processes, and reduce liability while maintaining operational effectiveness.
Get clear, practical answers to Medicare’s most confusing regulations. Join Dr. Ronald Hirsch as he breaks down real-world compliance challenges and shares guidance your team can apply right away.
Federal auditors are zeroing in on Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility (IRF) and hospital rehab unit services, with OIG and CERT audits leading to millions in penalties—often due to documentation and administrative errors, not quality of care. Join compliance expert Michael Calahan, PA, MBA, to learn the five clinical “pillars” of IRF-PPS admissions, key documentation requirements, and real-life case lessons to help protect your revenue.
During this essential RACmonitor webcast Michael Calahan, PA, MBA Certified Compliance Officer, will clarify the rules, dispel common misconceptions, and equip you with practical strategies to code, document, and bill high-risk split/shared, incident-to & critical care E/M services with confidence. Don’t let audit risks or revenue losses catch your organization off guard — learn exactly what federal auditors are looking for and how to ensure your documentation and reporting stand up to scrutiny.
Prepare for the 2025 CMS IPPS Final Rule with ICD10monitor’s IPPSPalooza! Click HERE to learn more
Get 15% OFF on all educational webcasts at ICD10monitor with code JULYFOURTH24 until July 4, 2024—start learning today!
CYBER WEEK IS HERE! Don’t miss your chance to get 20% off now until Dec. 1 with code CYBER25
CYBER WEEK IS HERE! Don’t miss your chance to get 20% off now until Dec. 2 with code CYBER24
