Improving Medical Education by Coupling Basic Science Lectures With ICD-10 Codes

At the Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine (VCOM), students are taught through a systems-based block education process organized according to separate organ systems. The block education lectures provide instruction on these various organ systems and their associated diseases and potential for diagnosis and treatment. A curricular initiative implemented at VCOM incorporates International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision (ICD-10) codes into the preclinical curriculum to enhance student learning and recall of basic science information and to prepare them for patient encounters during clinical rotations. In constructing this curricular initiative, diseases and procedures mentioned in all lectures during the first 2 years were evaluated and matched with their corresponding ICD-10 diagnostic and procedural codes to illustrate to students how this information would be used in a clinical setting. Of 994 lectures with 36,105 slides, 4331 opportunities to associate ICD-10 codes were identified. Information was given to instructors to update their future lectures. This initiative aims to enhance the preclinical educational experience and prepare preclinical students for documenting patient care. After students have been fully exposed to this new learning component, a study is planned to analyze the effects of the curriculum.