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can we create our own list of commonly used ICD /Cpt codes and sse it as a cheat sheet

You can edit codes. You can change what it is called. For instance, 401.9 is benign hypertension. You can change it to say High Blood Pressure or whatever you want.

The problem with doing it this way is that it would take hundreds of hours to manual input each needed code and manual delete each unneeded code. If there is a way to get to the database (like with the medication list) this can be done fairly quickly.

When I edit the descriptor for an ICD-9 code, I leave the original, "real" descriptor there in parentheses, just in case. Maybe I'm over-cautious.

Speaking of cheat sheets, here is a link to the "Family Practice Management" magazine Short List, 600 of the most common codes for Family Practice. The sometimes-confusing "real" ICD-9 descriptors are replaced with informal, problem-oriented descriptors. The top 100 codes have a red arrow.

http://www.aafp.org/fpm/icd9/icd9-short-0607.pdf

Here is the page that contains this cheat sheet, with other similar resources for family practice:
http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/journals/fpm/icd9.html

You will note there is also a Long List, with more four and five digit codes, which you might also find helpful.

The AAFP updates these every year.

The forms come in an Excel spreadsheet format also, and I guess they could be easily modified into a replacement ICD-9 database if somebody wanted to do that, or can our ICD-9 database be modified in that way?

Brian

Brian,
You can probably modify the ICD-9 code if you can get passed the password on the Access database. I would suspect that it would be listed under the codes.mdb. However that database is proprietary and we aren't allowed to play with that at this time.

Roy:

Interesting contrast, eh?

We can edit the ICD-9 codes readily from within Amazing Charts but we can't access the database.

We CAN'T edit the medication database from within Amazing Charts, but we can do whatever we like to the database?!?

I want to be able to do *both* things to *both* databases, and it seems that it should be possible.

I like being able to customize my databases! It's like when I had my '74 Plymouth Duster, and I could work on it myself. I think it is this simplicity, openness, customizability and comprehensibility that gives Amazing Charts part of its charm.

The more things that can be easily customized to individual users, the broader the appeal of the program!

BC