New ICD-10-CM Code for the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19), April 1, 2020

As a result of the declaration, the WHO Family of International Classifications (WHOFIC) Network Classification and Statistics Advisory Committee (CSAC) convened an emergency meeting on January 31, 2020 to discuss the creation of a specific code for this new coronavirus. A new International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) emergency code (U07.1, 2019-nCoV acute respiratory disease) has been established by WHO.

To capture the reporting of this condition in our nation’s claims and surveillance data, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), under the National Emergencies Act Section 201 and 301, is announcing a change in the effective date of new diagnosis code U07.1, COVID-19, from October 1, 2020 to April 1, 2020.

Consistent with this WHO update to the ICD-10, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics (CDC/NCHS) will implement a new diagnosis code into the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-10-CM) for reporting, effective with the next update, October 1, 2020.

Source: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/icd/Announcement-New-ICD-code-for-coronavirus-3-18-2020.pdf