Guides
Twelve short, factual explainers on the three code sets MedCodeSearch publishes. They describe how the systems are built and released — the structure of a code, who maintains it, when it changes — using the official CMS and CDC/NCHS files as the reference. They never tell you which code to report.
For how the files become pages here, see Methodology; for the exact releases loaded, see Data Sources.
The three code sets
What each system is for, who maintains it, and what its codes look like.
- What Is ICD-10-CM? The U.S. diagnosis classification: who maintains it, what a code looks like, and how the annual release works.
- What Is ICD-10-PCS? The inpatient hospital procedure system, built from seven independent character positions rather than a fixed list.
- What Are HCPCS Level II Codes? CMS codes for supplies, drugs, equipment and services, updated four times a year.
Telling them apart
The two comparisons people search for most, answered side by side.
Reading a code
How to decode a code character by character, and what the status labels mean.
- How to Read an ICD-10-CM Code Category, then detail, then extension — plus the placeholder X that trips people up.
- How to Read an ICD-10-PCS Code Seven positions, seven independent meanings. A character-by-character walk through a real code.
- What Does a Billable/Specific ICD-10 Code Mean? Where the label comes from, what it actually asserts, and the things it is not.
Updates and code lifecycle
When new releases land, and what happens to a code that goes away.
- How Often Are ICD-10 Codes Updated? One release a year, effective October 1, with a public proposal process in between.
- How Often Are HCPCS Codes Updated? Four releases a year instead of one, and the reason the cadence is different.
- What Happens When a Medical Code Is Deleted? Deletion removes a code from the current release, not from history. What that means for lookups.
Using MedCodeSearch
Getting to the right code quickly.
How these guides are written
Every factual claim is drawn from the official release files MedCodeSearch imports or from the publishing organization's own documentation, and each guide closes with the sources it relies on. Where a detail could not be verified against a primary source, the guide describes the mechanism instead of guessing at a figure. Counts and effective dates quoted in a guide match the releases listed on Data Sources, and the live per-release change lists are on Code Updates.
Guides are reference material, not coding, billing or medical advice. For questions about a specific patient, encounter or claim, the official coding guidelines and your organization's compliance resources are the authority. See the Disclaimer.