AMA board discourages skipping ahead to ICD-11

Despite concerns about the relatively short timeframe to implement ICD-10, skipping ahead to ICD-11 is not a good alternative, according to a new report published by the American Medical Association's board of trustees. According to the report, such a move is "fraught with its own pitfalls."

ICD-11 currently is in development by the World Health Organization, according to the report. It is expected to be ready for consideration by the World Health Assembly--the decision-making body of WHO--by May 2015. ICD-11, the report says, will have a "multi-axial framework with linkages among diagnostic concepts," a "contrast to the hierarchical structure of ICD-10."

At the AMA's interim meeting last November in Honolulu, some attendees kicked around the idea of eliminating ICD-10 and instead waiting for and adopting ICD-11 in October 2017. That idea, though, was met with pushback, as it was seen by some as a potential "blanket endorsement" for ICD-11. Report (.pdf)