V9542XA - Spacecraft crash injuring occupant, initial encounter.

To code or not to code, it's not even a question! Healthcare reimbursement depends on codes (which are shorthand for diagnoses, symptoms and other information about you that goes into your medical record and helps your doctor get paid).

We've got to get everyone speaking the same language with Symple. 

So we'll soon be asking you to upgrade your Doctor's Report by fitting your symptoms to what we call "a normalized list". For example, if you are tracking "brain pain" we'll ask you to associate "brain pain" with the normalized symptom "headache" or ICD 10 code R51. You can still call it "brain pain" within Symple, but we'll attach that ICD 10 code to "brain pain" as well as a physician reviewed definition for Headache.

The ICD 10 is the list of codes that US healthcare providers will be required to use beginning in October 2014. The list is quite long and can be vastly entertaining! Here are a few of my favorite codes that I've encountered as I've built up our normalized symptom database:

• V96.00XS - unspecified balloon accident injuring occupant, sequela
• W5612XA - Struck by a sea lion, initial encounter
• S1087XA - Other superficial bite of other specified part of neck, initial encounter (um, with Vampire??)
• V91.07XA - Burn due to water-skis on fire, initial encounter
• W6133XA - being pecked by chicken, initial encounter

Note: we may bake more of these into Symple app. You'll have to look for yourself!