Medical Classification Code Visual Mapping Interface
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Solution Overview
Problem
Healthcare systems face difficulties in efficiently updating and navigating medical classification code sets, such as ICD-9-CM to ICD-10-CM, due to the large number of codes and variations, making it challenging for users to select the appropriate classification codes and ensure accurate mappings during transitions.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that maps medical classification codes to interface terminology elements, grouping them into categories with base elements and sub-elements, allowing users to search and visualize the relationships between codes, and generate visual maps to assist in finding specific clinical interface terms, compare code versions, and ensure accurate mappings.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If the number of medical classification codes is increased to provide greater granularity and capture more information, then the precision and information content of codes is improved, but the complexity of navigating and selecting appropriate codes increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the complex code selection process into hierarchical levels: starting with a root concept search, followed by progressive selection of modifiers (anatomical site, laterality, severity, etc.). Each level breaks down the overwhelming 68,000 codes into manageable subsets, allowing users to navigate from general to specific codes systematically rather than being presented with all possibilities at once.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary search interface that acts as a mediator between the user and the complex code set. This interface provides visual maps and guided selection workflows that translate clinical concepts into appropriate code selections, reducing the cognitive burden on users while maintaining code precision.
2Reliability
If medical classification codes are updated periodically to reflect significant changes and new codes, then the information content and accuracy of the code set is improved, but the difficulty of migration and mapping between versions increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary actions by pre-establishing mapping relationships between different code versions (e.g., ICD-9-CM to ICD-10-CM) and maintaining visual maps that show code relationships across versions. This allows migration to be facilitated through the same guided interface, with pre-computed mappings reducing the complexity of transitions between code sets.
3Measurement precision
If users are required to select the most specific classification code, then the precision and completeness of medical documentation is improved, but the time required to locate and select the appropriate code increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a dynamic code selection process where the interface adapts to user input and progressively refines code options. The visual maps dynamically update based on selections made at each hierarchical level, guiding users efficiently to the most specific code needed without requiring them to manually explore all possible variants. This dynamic guidance significantly reduces code selection time while maintaining documentation precision.
Data Source
AI summary
A medical classification code modeling system and method that generates visual maps in response to user queries, where the visual maps represent combinations of modifiers of an interface terminology that, taken together, map to medical classification code elements. The system and method may present multiple visual maps on the same display to permit visual analysis of multiple mapping revisions or versions. The system and method further may integrate into an electronic health record such that the user's ultimate selection of a mapping results in the corresponding medical classification code being inserted into the record of a patient at an appropriate location, such as on the patient's problem list.