Certified Medical Assistant Practice Exam

Which volumes of the ICD-9-CM books are needed for coding diagnoses in the medical office?

1. Volume 1 and 3

2. Volume 1 only

3. Volume 1 and 2

4. Volume 2 only

The correct answer is: Volume 1 and 2

For coding diagnoses in the medical office using ICD-9-CM, it is essential to refer to Volume 1 and Volume 2. Volume 1 contains the tabular list of diseases and injuries, which provides the codes and their descriptions for various diagnoses. This volume is integral as it categorizes diseases and includes detailed guidelines for coding them accurately. Volume 2 serves as the alphabetic index, allowing code lookup based on disease names and descriptions. This index aids in finding specific codes efficiently, facilitating prompt coding for medical encounters. Together, these two volumes provide comprehensive resources for accurate and effective diagnosis coding, which is key for billing and medical record-keeping in a clinical setting. Volume 3, on the other hand, focuses on procedures and services, and is not required for primary diagnosis coding. Therefore, the combination of Volume 1 and Volume 2 is the correct answer, as they encompass the necessary information needed for diagnosis coding specifically.