Final answer:
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) along with the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) issue ICD-9-CM coding guidelines, while the American Medical Association (AMA) issues guidelines for CPT. ICD codes are heavily used in clinical practice, from diagnosis to billing processes. These codes are commonly found in medical laboratories and health-care management systems.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) along with the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) are responsible for issuing official coding guidelines for ICD-9-CM (International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification), whereas the American Medical Association (AMA) is responsible for issuing official guidelines for CPT (Current Procedural Terminology). These coding systems play a critical role in the healthcare industry.
For instance, when a patient seeks treatment for a viral infection, clinicians use ICD codes to prescribe treatments specified to the virus. Medical laboratories use these codes to identify necessary tests, while health-care management systems verify appropriate treatments and laboratory work.
Medical coders assign ICD codes for procedures and medical billers use this information for processing insurance claims. Additionally, ICD codes are utilized by vital-records keepers for death certificates and by epidemiologists for calculating morbidity and mortality statistics.
ICD codes can typically be found at medical laboratories and within health-care management systems, which are two locations where one would likely encounter an ICD code.