The official U.S. launch of ICD-10 has come and gone. Some folks were happy to see this finally happen, while others were pretty angry that it was not further delayed. Love it or hate it, I think there is one thing everyone can agree on -- among the 68,000+ billing codes in ICD-10, there are some pretty weird (and hilarious) things to be found. In this article, we’re going to have a bit of fun by looking at what I consider to be the top ten oddest and most hilarious billing codes in ICD-10.

If, like me, you spent way too much time searching “ICD-10 Launch” on the internet yesterday… you probably (also like me) saw a lot of panic-inciting and/or fear-inducing blogs and opinion articles that made it sound as if yesterday’s transition to ICD-10 in the United States was going to be the medical coding equivalent of the apocalypse. Today, I am happy to report that the U.S. ICD-10 transition has been about as “apocalyptic” as the Y2K panic was back in 2000 (which, as most of you probably remember, was not an apocalypse).

Way back in 1983, well over 30 years ago, the World Health Organization (WHO) began drafting the 10th Edition of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10). It took them just shy of a decade to actually finish the thing, of course, which they finally released in 1992. The transition from ICD-9 did not happen overnight, though… not by a longshot. In fact, it would take a number of years before most countries started using it.

Last week, the American Medical Association and other medical societies let their voices be heard in regard to Meaningful Use and the proposed rules for Stage 3. Via a letter to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the AMA urged the government to delay the Meaningful Use Stage 3 rollout. It now appears these medical societies have additional support for the Stage 3 delay as more than 100 members of Congress have signed a letter of their own, asking for a hold in the Stage 3 rollout.

Despite the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recently submitting Meaningful Use Stage 3 final rules to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review, prominent medical societies are asking the government to delay the Stage 3 rollout.

On this blog, we’ve done our best over the last nine months or so to give our readers as many resources as possible to get prepared for the switch to ICD-10 in advance. In fact, back in February I provided our readers with a three-part blog series that provided a detailed look at how some of the more commonly used ICD-9 codes in Dermatology, Ophthalmology, and Plastic Surgery would translate over to ICD-10.

Well, folks… here we are. After years and years of political bickering, last minute delays, and long postponements, the final deadline for ICD-10 implementation in the United States is now less than two short weeks away. There were lot of people who still thought it wouldn’t happen in 2015, and if some had their way it would still not be happening. However, unless some kind of unexpected zero hour delay occurs between now and the October 1 deadline, ICD-10 is coming to a Dermatology practice near you (in fact, it’s coming to your Dermatology practice). It’s the Final Countdown, people!

Unless some kind of unexpected zero hour delay occurs between now and the October 1 deadline, ICD-10 is coming to a Plastic Surgery practice near you (in fact, it’s coming to your Plastic Surgery practice). It’s the Final Countdown, people! Somebody cue me up a 1980s-style “get ready” montage!