Final answer:
One would likely find an ICD code on medical bills and insurance claims, as well as on death certificates maintained by vital-records keepers. The ACA promotes the use of electronic medical records (EMRs) to improve the efficiency and accuracy of managing ICD codes within healthcare systems.
Step-by-step explanation:
Accurate coding is crucial in the healthcare sector to prevent fraud and abuse. In answering the question about where one would likely find an International Classification of Diseases (ICD) code, it's essential to understand that an ICD code is a standard diagnostic tool used for healthcare management, billing, and epidemiological purposes. For instance, clinicians use ICD codes to order laboratory tests specific to a suspected virus. Medical laboratories then use these codes to identify necessary tests to confirm a diagnosis. Furthermore, health-care management systems rely on ICD codes to validate the appropriateness of treatments and lab work. Medical coders and billers use these codes for procedure documentation and insurance claims processing, respectively. Lastly, ICD codes appear on death certificates for documenting cause of death and are employed by epidemiologists for tracking disease statistics.
Therefore, the two locations where one would likely find an ICD code are on medical bills/insurance claims and on death certificates, the latter maintained by vital-records keepers. Additionally, with the Adoption of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), healthcare providers are encouraged to switch to electronic medical records (EMRs), making the sharing and management of ICD codes more efficient and accurate. This transition to EMRs is a measure designed to control the rising costs of healthcare while improving service quality.