FAQs
CCSD Background
Who were the clinicians involved in the original project to create the CCSD Schedule?
The original project involved clinicians from all the UK Royal Colleges, where more than 130 clinicians across 22 specialty groups developed the new codes and narratives. This involved over 80 meetings with single specialty groups and a nationwide survey of 5,000 consultants, with over 1,500 replies.
Who is on the CCSD Board and Working Group?
The CCSD Board and Working Group have representatives from Aviva, AXA Healthcare, Bupa and VitalityHealth along with representatives from five major private hospitals, including Circle Health Group, HCA Healthcare, Nuffield Health, Spire Healthcare and Ramsay Health Care.
Representative from sector organisations, Healthcode, IHPN and PHIN are also invited to attend the Board which is chaired by an independent chair.
More information on the Board and Working Group can be found here.
How the CCSD Schedule is used
I’m new to CCSD, where can I find more information out the schedule and how to use it in my practice?
Are insurer fees set by CCSD?
No, the CCSD Group does not discuss or determine fees.
If a procedure is in the CCSD Schedule, will it be reimbursed by the insurance company?
The inclusion of a procedure code and/or its associated unacceptable combinations in the CCSD Schedule does not necessarily mean that it will be included in individual insurers’ own Schedules or covered.
The unacceptable combinations are non-exhaustive guidelines only, each individual insurer may choose whether or not to adopt an individual combination of codes in practice and you will need to contact the insurer for further information.
Is procedure XYZ eligible for benefit?
It is up to each individual insurer to make this decision and you should contact each insurer, as appropriate, for further details of their fee levels, the benefit limits and eligibility of specific procedures or interventions.
What about the level of reimbursement for specialists?
The CCSD Schedule focuses on delivering a common set of codes and narratives for surgical and medical treatments. CCSD provides a common language for insurers and providers to use to describe the care being given to a patient.
The fees payable for these services will continue to be set by each individual insurer and you should contact each insurer, as appropriate, for further information on their fee levels.
When should codes X0001, X0002, X0003 and X0004 be assigned to describe cancer services?
Please refer to the CCSD Technical Guide, which can be found here.
If a code has ‘as a sole procedure’ in its narrative does this mean no other procedure can be performed at the same time?
Please refer to the CCSD Technical Guide, which can be found here.
I’m not sure which code I should be using
The CCSD technical guide will give you guidance on the principles of CCSD coding. This is supported by chapter specific guidance which will be available on the website in due course.
If you are still unsure please contact the team on ccsd@uk.gt.com.
Maintaining and updating the CCSD Schedule(s)
I have a new procedure to add to the CCSD schedule – how to I do this?
Please see instructions on the Schedule Amendments page which describes how to request a CCSD Schedule amendment in full. It is advised that you check the code requests in progress on the View Requests list within Schedule Amendments, as another request may have been recently submitted that matches your suggestion.
If a suitable code and narrative does not already exist log into the Members’ area. Select the Submit Request Amendment page from Schedule Amendments and complete the form. If you do not have all the complete information you can save and complete the form at a later time.
Further step-by-step guidance on submitting code change requests can be found in the How to guides.
Why does procedure XYZ not appear on the CCSD schedule?
New or amended codes are not included in the CCSD Schedule until they have been approved by the CCSD Working Group; as shown by their ‘pending’ status within the Recent Requests of Schedule Amendments.
Diagnostic Schedule
Should the diagnostic codes be loaded (and hence billed) alongside existing CCSD procedure codes?
No, these codes present diagnostic service charges and although issued by CCSD do not constitute procedures. The CCSD Schedule of Procedure codes are those you load, and will continue to, into your procedure code table(s). These Schedule of Diagnostic Test codes will be mapped to Charge Master codes as per existing ISC codes.
Are diagnostic codes included within the contracts between insurers and providers?
That is a matter between individual insurers and providers however the expectation is that this classification will determine the contracted service reference for Diagnostic tests going forward.
Are providers expected to replace their chargemaster codes with new proposed diagnostic codes?
No. While in a perfect world all parties will use a uniform and unambiguous set of codes for all business transactions we understand the practical realities are very different. As such we would expect to map provider’s Chargemaster codes to ‘new’ ISCs in the current practice.
Are insurers expected to replace their internal system codes with new proposed diagnostic codes?
No. As above, insurers specify the grouping and hence output they wish to receive from Healthcode and that principle will be maintained. Naturally should an insurer wish to replace its existing codes it will be able to do so, but this is not a prerequisite for their deployment. Nor is this a requirement to provide validation or price screening at the granular level.
Do the diagnostic codes replace the Healthcode Industry Standard codes?
No. The numbering and coding system presented within the schedules are not deployable in a systemised manner. Healthcode will therefore map the CCSD schedule codes to ISCs. This may require creation of new ISCs or renaming of existing ones and, where this is the case, Healthcode will create and amend within the ISC schedule.
Are existing Healthcode ISCs in the CCSD schedule retired?
Not necessarily. Where a CCSD code supersedes an existing ISC the ISC will most likely be retired. Where an ISC needs to exist beyond the insured world (i.e. the code may be required by hospitals for non-insured work) it will be retained. It is important not to confuse the existence of a code on the schedule with its acceptability on a PMI invoice.
Membership, licences and log ins
I do not have a GMC number – how do I gain access to the CCSD Schedule?
If you do not have a current GMC number and you are a registered individual healthcare provider you may put your relevant professional body registration number in the GMC box. Please indicate in this box which profession body this is for.
Please contact us for information if you are unsure which licence you should be applying for.
How do I update my contact details or change my email address and password?
You log into the Members’ area using your email address and password. You should use the email address which you provided us with on your original application form.
Please use the Forgot Password reminder if you have forgotten your password. If your email address is not recognised then please contact us.
Once logged into the Members’ area, you can click onto the ‘My Details’ menu item to update your contact details and change your email address or password.
How do I obtain a password reminder?
Please go to the login page and click on the forgotten password function. You will be asked to enter your email and you should shortly receive a password reminder via email.
Can multiple persons from an organisation register as a member of the CCSD website?
Yes, as long as they apply to the same type of user licence as the organisation is registered under.
Navigating the website
Why are some pages not displaying correctly?
You may be using an out of date browser. Please upgrade to a newer browser to fully enjoy this website.
How can I view/find inactive codes?
To view inactive codes please tick the ‘view inactive codes’ box under the search box or select a chapter from the chapter list scroll down menu.
If you search the schedule for a term or code, inactive codes will appear as greyed out, and you will be able to ascertain when a code was inactivated.
What does the green button by a code signify?
The green button signifies that there are Unacceptable combinations assigned to that particular code. Click on the green button to view the unacceptable combinations.
What does the blue button by a code signify?
The blue button signifies there are currently no Unacceptable combinations assigned to the code.