CDC accelerates effective date of COVID-19 code

The novel coronavirus pandemic has prompted the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to move up to April 1 the adoption date for a diagnosis code for COVID-19 disease.

The CDC had originally issued the code U07.1, COVID-19 and said it would take effect with the next update of the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-10-CM), scheduled for October 1, 2020.

However, the coronavirus emergency has prompted the agency to move up that timeline to April, the CDC stated in a March 18 press release. The change was due to the "urgent need to capture the reporting of this condition in our nation's claims and surveillance data," the agency said