Table of Contents
What is DSM-5 and why is it used?
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Illnesses, 5th Edition is the authoritative resource for defining and diagnosing mental and behavioral health conditions. Part textbook, part diagnostic tool, and part coding manual, it’s an indispensable part of caring for patients showing signs of mental and behavioral disorders.
Developed by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) in the 1950’s, the DSM has undergone several revisions as mental healthcare has advanced and evolved. Today, DSM-5-TR, the latest edition, represents the most comprehensive body of knowledge for psychiatric diagnoses, increasingly accepted throughout the world as the standard of care.
In the United States, the use of DSM-5 carries clinical, administrative, and compliance implications for healthcare providers. Psychiatrists, in particular, are bound to follow its guidelines and definitions, including the recording of detailed diagnoses. The DSM-5 manual specifies sets of details that are required for each diagnosis, and these details vary from diagnosis to diagnosis.
The main substance of the DSM-5 manual is found in its 22 Diagnostic Criteria chapters, each addressing a different type of disorder. For example:
- Depressive disorders
- Anxiety disorders
- Neurodevelopmental disorders, such as autism, ADHD, and stuttering
- Substance-related and addictive disorders
In each chapter, you’ll find a comprehensive discussion of the disorders it contains. These include:
- Diagnostic Criteria (including lists of findings)
- Descriptions of disease features
- Prevalence
- Typical disease course
- Many other factors pertaining to each diagnosis
Mental and behavioral health providers use this detailed set of materials to evaluate, diagnose, and monitor patients as they care for them.
Clarifying DSM-5 codes
Sometimes, there is confusion surrounding “DSM-5 codes.” While the high-level diagnosis for each DSM-5 mental disorder has a code associated with it, these are all standard ICD-10-CM codes – there are no separate DSM-5 codes. One thing that distinguishes a DSM-5 diagnosis from an ICD-10-CM standard code description is the greater level of detail captured in a fully specified, APA-compliant DSM-5 diagnosis.
For instance, in the case of bipolar disorder, ICD-10-CM captures severity; whether the current episode is manic, depressed, or mixed; whether psychotic features are present; and, if applicable, degree of remission. To be DSM-5 compliant, a bipolar diagnosis must also specify bipolar I versus II, and whether additional findings are present (such as anxious distress, seasonal pattern, rapid cycling, or catatonia).
Another difference sometimes seen between ICD-10-CM and DSM-5 is the terminology used.
For instance, ICD-10-CM uses “substance abuse,” while DSM-5 uses “substance use disorder” for the same clinical condition. ICD-10-CM uses “dementia,” while DSM-5 uses “major neurocognitive disorder.” IMO Health content includes both wording conventions, so clinicians can use the wording that best fits their needs.
Infant and early childhood mental health professionals sometimes ask us whether IMO Health’s content includes DC:0-5. The answer is yes! DC:0-5 is a set of mental and behavioral health diagnoses that are specific to very young age groups. Most of these diagnoses are found in the DSM-5 manual, but a few – such as sensory over-responsivity disorder – are found only in the DC:0-5. IMO Health’s Behavioral Health content includes the full set of DC:0-5 diagnoses, mapped to ICD-10-CM and SNOMED CT®.
How is DSM-5 used?
The physical DSM-5-TR manual can still be found in many practice settings. Today, PDFs and online resources are also used for diagnosis lookup and investigation. The task of fully specifying a mental or behavioral health diagnosis often requires a stringent reasoning process, resulting in a lengthy, detailed diagnosis.
The next challenge faced by a provider documenting a mental or behavioral health diagnosis is recording the full diagnosis in the patient’s medical record. Most electronic health record (EHR) systems have ICD-10-CM code descriptions available for documentation, and these do include psychiatric diagnoses. However, the ICD-10 descriptions are almost never detailed enough to meet APA requirements.
Why IMO Health?
This is where IMO Health’s knowledge layer, encompassing precise behavioral health content, comes in. IMO Health provides a comprehensive set of out-of-the box problem descriptions that capture DSM-5 diagnoses to the required degree of specificity. And, unlike a free-text description, each IMO Health diagnosis includes mappings to the relevant ICD-10 and SNOMED CT codes. This supports billing, reimbursement, quality measure reporting, and interoperability.
IMO Health’s robust knowledge layer makes it unnecessary for provider organizations to take on the difficult, time-consuming task of creating and mapping these specialized diagnoses themselves. Our DSM-5 content is kept up to date with the most recent changes and additions to diagnoses as well as their mappings. This content changes multiple times throughout each year, and IMO Health keeps users on top of the updates.
IMO Health’s advantages:
- APA compliance: Avoid APA compliance risks with fully detailed DSM-5 diagnoses
- Accurate billing: Support correct billing with the proper ICD-10-CM mappings
- Interoperability: Achieve interoperability and fulfill quality reporting requirements with SNOMED CT mappings
- Streamlined workflows: DSM-5 and DC:0-5 content is seamlessly integrated into the EHR for reduced provider burden and boosted efficiency
- No administrative hassle: With our solution, no prework is needed to create, tailor, or map behavioral health diagnoses
- Always up to date: Keep up with the most recent changes in mental and behavioral health content and mappings – automatically!
Mental and behavioral health is a critically important area of healthcare and we’re proud that IMO Health’s behavioral health content supports the providers who care for individuals facing these challenges every day.
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DSM®, DSM-IV®, DSM-5® are registered trademarks of the American Psychiatric Association, and are used with permission herein. Use of these terms is prohibited without permission of the American Psychiatric Association. Use of this trademark does not constitute endorsement of this product by the American Psychiatric Association.
SNOMED and SNOMED CT are registered trademarks of SNOMED International.
