Travis, I think this is a good thread and one to be brought up at the ACUC. Philosophically, I think the difficulty finding the correct ICD-9 code is compounded by the ones you/we see when we look such as Falling From A Train and Injurying a Passenger vs an Employee (these are real).
The orders section is where this gets us. I, myself, really hate documenting quickly only to spend over two minutes looking for the right ICD-9 code. Adding the top 25 is helpful and a great idea. I have found, though, that there are still those two or three that come in with some strange diagnosis that doesn't fit.
Damn, it's hard enough to come up with an actual diagnosis to treat and then with your brain fried, have to find another.
This is where the bell-shaped curve comes in. I think I may try to search for a diagnosis, but as soon as I can't find it, just type it and then write my diagnosis on the Superbill. If I circle it, my biller will know to find three codes that were close to that diagnosis.
I think for the bell-shaped curve to really be effective, it would be help to have a second database where they move to.
The EMR, Praxis, bases its entire EMR on the bell shaped curve. What I am saying isn't really any different than one is already being suggested, just that every time you come up with a new ICD-9 code, it is getting closer to the center.
If none of this makes sense, I am not a statistician.
