Which coding system is predominantly used for outpatient services?

The use of ICD-10-CM and CPT codes for outpatient services is well-established in healthcare coding practices. ICD-10-CM, which stands for the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision, Clinical Modification, provides a comprehensive system for diagnosing conditions and diseases. It allows for a more detailed representation of patient health data compared to its predecessor, ICD-9-CM, especially given its expanded code set.

CPT codes, which stand for Current Procedural Terminology, are specifically designed for documenting medical, surgical, and diagnostic services rendered by healthcare providers in an outpatient setting. These codes are essential for billing and reimbursement purposes for procedures and services provided. The combination of ICD-10-CM for diagnoses and CPT for procedures creates a robust framework for capturing the complete picture of a patient's outpatient care.

In contrast, other coding systems mentioned are either primarily used in inpatient settings (like DRG, which relates to Diagnosis-Related Groups), serve different functions (like LOINC and SNOMED, which are used for laboratory tests and medical terminologies, respectively), or do not comprehensively apply to outpatient services in the same way that ICD-10-CM and CPT codes do. Thus, the integration of these two coding systems makes option B