The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) is needed because it helps
people to communicate with people that may have a mental disorder. It also helps to provide a
diagnosis for the symptoms patient's may be facing. It benefits behavioral and mental health by
diagnosing mental health disorders. As for ICD-10, it's used to classify diseases. In a way both DSM
and ICD-10 work together. DSM is needed to help describe a mental disorder with more
specificity. The DSM provides guidelines, self-rated symptom measures, and allows for factors such
as gender, age, and sex to assist with diagnosing and categorizing the severity of the disorder.
According to an article, Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders 5: A quick glance, by
Vihang Vahia, the ability to rate the severity of a patient’s symptoms helps to “grade and chart the
course of the disorder.” The article also states that DSM can be used as a tool to monitor the
mental health of the community. The gathered data can be used by researchers, physicians, and of
course the medical coders with the intent of enhancing the quality of care for patients with
mental health disorders (Vahia, 2013). ICD-10 on the other hand is simply used to code the
diagnosis for reimbursement; however, the codes can also be used for trending purposes. Since
DSM and ICD-10 are two different systems, they do not align perfectly. The DSM is used as a
diagnosis tool and to help create a robust description, which can be used to assign the best ICD-10
code (Foley, 2016). The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders is definitely needed
due to the large amount of mental health problems and behavioral issues people face today. DSM-
5 is the fifth revision, published by American Psychiatric Association in 2013. Codes from ICD-9 and
ICD-10 are actually found within DSM-5. Section II of DSM contains ICD-10-CM codes, diagnostic
criteria, and mental disorder descriptive text. Therefore, you can say these coding materials
depend on each other. Mental health disorders are unique from other medical diseases and,
therefore, diagnosing them can be challenging. b Because of this, the American Psychiatric
Association (APA) developed the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). b The
DSM is a standardized classification of only mental health disorders that assists providers in
accurately diagnosing mental health issues. b The current version, DSM-5, lists all mental disorders
and their corresponding ICD-10-CM diagnostic codes. b DSM provides the information needed to
accurately code mental health disorders using ICD-10. b Both the DSM and ICD-10 are ways to
classify mental health disorders, but DSM is only used for diagnosing mental health disorders,
while ICD-10 is used for coding all medical conditions. Unfortunately, there are times when the
DSM-5 disorders don’t align with the ICD-10 codes because “ICD-10-CM was developed while the
diagnostic classification in effect was DSM-IV” (Giannangelo, 2019). b The ICD-11, not currently used
in the U.S., will include additional mental health disorder chapters and better “harmonize the two
classifications systems as much as possible” (Giannangelo, 2019). ICD-10 is a worldwide standard,
DSM-V was created by the American Psychiatric Association. Primarily used among mental and
behavioral health providers, DSM-V provides standard criteria for classifying mental disorders. The
U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, however, still requires that behavioral health
providers use ICD-10 designations to bill for services. The important thing to remember is that
DSM-V helps clinicians diagnose behavioral health issues more accurately. In contrast, ICD-10 helps
billing staff code and bill more accurately. Because of these differences, a behavioral health
provider’s EHR system should incorporate both types of coding. DSM contains descriptions,
symptoms, and other criteria for diagnosing mental disorders. It provides a common language for
clinicians to communicate about their patients and establishes consistent and reliable diagnoses
that can be used in the research of mental disorders. Basically, the DSM is just a tool that
therapist and other health professionals' use to help diagnose a mental disorder. They are not
used for reimbursement like ICD-10 would be. So, essentially, they just allow a diagnosis for
mental health to be defined. Another difference is that ICD 10 is a bunch of different diseases and
not just mental health. With DSM, there is a little bit of difference for instance, "dementia, which
is noted in DSM-5 as a neurocognitive disorder, which is not how ICD-10 characterizes dementia"
(Boyd). This is an odd example, normally they are similar for mental disorders. Anyways, back to
ICD -10, it is really a guide for all disease and disorder so that a facility can use it for
reimbursement. It is not going to help you figure out a diagnosis, it just defines the diagnosis by
the code you are using. For instance, you will have I10 and in the book it will just say that is
hypertension unspecified. That is not going to help you diagnose someone with hypertension, it
will just give you a code to use for that. The DSM actually gives more in-depth detail of mental
disorders. Unlike the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) 10 (and now 11), the Diagnostic
and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) focuses primarily on psychiatric disorders and
diseases. This means that the DSM is more particular and thorough about its descriptions. So
much so, that after an international mental health conference in 1982 there was worldwide
agreement for the ICD to adopt more explicit diagnostic criteria to define mental disorders that
adhered to what was in the DSM. Since then, the World Health Organization (WHO) has worked
with the American Psychiatric Association (APA) to better align their systems and work more
seamlessly with each other (Regier et al., 2013). The biggest hurdle for the compatibility of both
systems is the fact that the ICD is an international tool while the DSM is primarily an American
one, which can cause issues when it comes to assessing problems due to cultural differences
(Regier et al., 2013). Problems notwithstanding, the DSMs more in-depth indexing of mental
health helps improve the care that people receive by helping doctors more readily recognize
mental disorders when they appear. DMS provides common descriptions symptoms about their
patients., and the research of mental disorders. Because of these differences ICD-10 helps billing
staff code and bill more accurately for mental health. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of
Mental Disorders or DSM is the culmination of 10 years of work by thousands of professionals
across the globe to better understand mental health issues and help to diagnose and treat these
issues more accurately. In this regard, it is needed by mental health advocates and physicians to
help understand the complexities of treating mental health. While ICD-10 helps to accurately
diagnose physical ailments, it has been slightly lacking, however, with the latest revisions in ICD-11
mental health diagnoses inaccuracies and misunderstandings will soon be a thing of the past. In
the meantime, to bridge the gap in mental health care, DSM has taken the slack. This Manual
serves as a basis for mental health diagnoses and treatment and has helped many facets of the
healthcare industry improve their own understanding of mental healthcare. “The ICD is produced
by a global health agency with a constitutional public health mission, while the DSM is produced
by a single national processional association.” b (ICD vs. DSM, 2009). ICD-10 and DSM are alike in
that they are both resources on classifying diseases. b They differ in that the DSM is specifically
designed to classify mental health diseases/disorders and ICD-10 is all-inclusive of all body systems
that require classification. (Foley, 2016). Although the Surgeon General has closed the gap on the
lack of understanding and treatment of mental health issues, I believe a variety of social concern
movements (i.e., “me too” movement, Black Lives Matter movement), the increase in shooting
tragedies and social chaos, and dealing with the fear and grief over COVID these past three years
has brought a new understanding to mental health issues facing our world today. b Raising
awareness on such issues as bullying, racism, sexual harassment, a myriad of addictions, and even
hostile work environments is having a positive effect on the way the healthcare industry has finally
started championing and classifying mental health issues. b The DSM-V provides updated
information focused on mental health issues that allow healthcare professionals diagnose mental
health issues more accurately. b ICD-10-CM is then needed for the business side of this information
so it can be coded accurately. We have all been smacked up-close and personal by a flash of our
own mortality, compliments of COVID and the current state of chaos the world is in, and it has
shocked many of us into re-evaluating our lives and priorities. b Countless people are living in fear
of and/or grief from the catastrophic events of the past few years, so there is an increased need
for more accurate treatment and coding of mental health issues. b The negative stigma of mental
health is being diminished by this awareness. The ultimate result is the acknowledgement that
mental health issues affect everyone at some point in life, which makes it less taboo in society.
The quality of life for mental health patients has improved greatly over time and made it possible
for those patients to live normal healthy lives with proper therapy and treatment. The Diagnostic
and Statistical Manual of Mental Health Disorders helps clinicians diagnose behavioral health
issues more accurately. The DSM provides a common language towards the development of
treatment addressing complex symptomology. ICD and DSM are different when it comes to the
intent and purpose. ICD is committed to public health whereas the DSM is specifically focused on
mental health conditions. However, they both provide crucial information for the diagnosis and
treatment of physical and mental health disorders. There have been significant changes made to
the DSM which are classified by the type and range, along with the severity of the symptoms. The
DSM offers accurate diagnostic information for professionals assessing the needs and symptoms of
clients. Diagnosis and treatment can be impacted by differentiating between conditions and
symptoms. This is why it is imperative for providers to have an accurate idea of what the patient is
going through so they can be provided with the proper treatment. There is a lot more to learn
about mental health, and diagnosis will change which results in the revision of the DSM keeping it
up to date as new information is discovered. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manuel of Mental
Disorders (DSM) is used to help classify behavioral and mental health diagnosis. There are three
sections, the first section consists of an introduction, use of the manual, and the cautionary
statement for forensic use of DSM-5. Section II is the diagnostic criteria and codes. This section
has the information that is used to support a diagnosis. It also has the ICD-10 codes for mental
health diagnosis. However, the ICD-10 codes are aligned with DSM-IV so some of the codes are
not included in DSM-5. The third section has emerging measures and models. This isn't a
requirement for clinical use, but is helpful as an additional supportive measure for diagnosing,
treating, and treatment monitoring. So while ICD-10 is useful in billing the DSM-5 is useful in
accurately coding by offering common language and standards to provide assistance in diagnosing.
References
American Psychiatric Association. (n.d.). DSM-5. APA. Retrieved February 24, 2022, from
https://www.psychiatry.org/psychiatrists/practice/dsm
Giannangelo, K. (2019). Healthcare Code Sets, Clinical Terminologies, and Classification Systems:
with Access Code (4th ed.). AHIMA.
Foley, D. R. (2016, August 10). DSM-5 vs. ICD-10-CM. Retrieved from AHIMA.ORG:
https://journal.ahima.org/dsm-5-vs-icd-10-cm/
ICD vs. DSM. (2009, October). Retrieved from American Psychological Association:
https://www.apa.org/monitor/2009/10/icd-dsm
Regier, D. A., Kuhl, E. A., & Kupfer, D. J. (2013). The DSM-5: Classification and criteria changes.
World Psychiatry, 12(2), 92–98. https://doi.org/10.1002/wps.20050
Boyd, N. (2019, December 9). Diagnostic codes: DSM-5 vs ICD-10. KASA Solutions. Retrieved
February 24, 2022, from https://kasa-solutions.com/diagnostic-codes-dsm-5-vs-icd-10/
Giannangelo, K., (2019). Healthcare Code Sets, Clinical Terminologies, and Classification Systems,
Fourth Edition. b American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA).
ICD vs. DSM October 2009, Vol 40, No. 9
https://www.apa.org/monitor/2009/10/icd-dsm
Understaing the DSM- 5: The Guide to Diagnosing Mental Health Conditions. The Recovery Village
Drug and Alcohol Rehab. Retrieved February 23, 2022, from
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