ICD 9 and 10 codes not clinically relevant

This paper in Chest questions their value in describing chronic respiratory disease:

When the codes that relate to COPD and asthma are examined, the clinical relevance of the categories in International Classification of Disease coding must be questioned. In the future, a more simplified terminology that is consistent with clinical usage could improve accuracy and ease of coding.

Oh, the stupidity of administrative documentation. Aside from the inherent stupidity of the ICD codes, they are out of date. ICD 10, soon to be our “new” system, was conceived in the 1980's and completed in 1992. ICD 9 is decades out of date.