HCUP Procedure Classes Load Guide
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HCUP (12/12/17) 1
Load Guide: Downloading and Applying the Procedure Classes for ICD-10-PCS Tool
Overview of HCUP ICD-10-CM/PCS Tools
ICD-10-CM/PCS Tools can be used with data containing hospital discharges beginning October
1, 2015. HCUP Tools are updated periodically to accommodate new or revised ICD-10-
CM/PCS codes and to add corrections or modifications based on new guidance for the use of
ICD-10-CM/PCS codes. You are advised to apply the most recent version of the HCUP Tools
for your data throughout your research process.
The information included in this document is specific to the Procedure Classes for ICD-10-PCS.
The “HCUP Tools Loading Tutorial”, part of the HCUP On-line Tutorial Series, provides steps to
apply the Clinical Classifications Software (CCS) to administrative data that are generally
applicable to all HCUP Tools, including the Procedure Classes. Specific guidance documents
for each HCUP Tool are available on the HCUP-US Web site:1
• Clinical Classifications Software (CCS): www.hcup-
us.ahrq.gov/toolssoftware/ccs10/ccs10.jsp
• Chronic Condition Indicator (CCI): www.hcup-
us.ahrq.gov/toolssoftware/chronic_icd10/chronic_icd10.jsp
• Elixhauser Comorbidity Software: www.hcup-
us.ahrq.gov/toolssoftware/comorbidityicd10/comorbidity_icd10.jsp
• Procedure Classes: www.hcup-
us.ahrq.gov/toolssoftware/procedureicd10/procedure_icd10.jsp
• Utilization Flags: www.hcup-us.ahrq.gov/toolssoftware/utilflagsicd10/utilflag_icd10.jsp.
Timing and Versioning of Software Tool Releases
New or revised ICD-10-CM/PCS codes are released annually and valid for a Federal fiscal year,
which runs from October 1 to September 30. Fiscal years are identified by the year the codes
end. For example, FY2018 codes are valid from October 1, 2017 through September 30, 2018.
HCUP Tools are updated annually and released in October; however, the HCUP Tools are
occasionally re-released during a Federal fiscal year to apply changes to the Tools’
assignments of specific ICD-10-CM/PCS codes. Thus, the HCUP ICD-10-CM/PCS Tools
incorporate a versioning system that acknowledge both the Federal fiscal year and an
incremented release number.
Version 2018.1 of the Procedure Classes for ICD-10-PCS was released in October 2017. The
codes contained in version 2018.1 are valid for use with data containing discharges from
October 1, 2015 through September 30, 2018.
Downloading and Installing Procedure Codes for ICD-10-PCS
The instructions below are specific to downloading and installing the Procedure Classes for
ICD-10-PCS.
If you are downloading the Tool for the first time:
1 The Surgery Flags software tool is currently available for use only with the ICD-9-CM and CPT codes
through 2015. See www.hcup-us.ahrq.gov/toolssoftware/surgflags/surgeryflags.jsp.
HCUP (12/12/17) 2
1. Navigate to “Downloading Information of the Procedure Classes for ICD-10-PCS Tool”
on the Procedure Classes for ICD-10-PCS Web page.
2. Click on the file name of the most current version of the Tool to automatically download
the ZIP file. Alternately, click on the file name with the right mouse button and select
"Save Link As" (Google Chrome) or "Save Target As" (Internet Explorer) to download the
ZIP file to your computer.
3. After downloading the file, extract the ZIP file contents to a location on your computer
where you can access it in the future. You will need to specify this location in the SAS
Load Program.2 The ZIP file for the Procedure Classes for ICD-10-PCS contains three
files:
• Translation file in text (ASCII) format that can be used with SAS, SPSS, Stata, or
other analytic software. It is a Comma Separated Value (.csv) text file.
• SAS Load Program.
• This Load Guide.
4. Modify and/or adapt the SAS Load Program depending on your statistical software
program.
a. If using SAS, modify the SAS Load Program as indicated in the file. This
includes specifying the full paths for all input and output files, including the
location of your database or directly inputting your dataset, under the program
header (i.e., ‘FILENAME INRAW1’, ‘LIBNAME IN1’, ‘LIBNAME OUT1’), the SAS
data file name (i.e., ‘CORE’), and the number and names of variables in your
dataset.
b. If using an alternate statistical program, adapt the SAS files as appropriate to
work with the formatting requirements of that program.
i. For SPSS: Use the SPSS Value Labels statement to apply the Procedure
Classes labels. If you have questions on how to apply the labels, contact
SPSS directly for technical assistance.
ii. For Stata: Use the dictionary command to apply the Procedure Classes
labels. If you have questions on how to apply the labels, use the Stata
“help” function for more instructions or contact Stata directly for technical
assistance.
5. Run the SAS (or other) Load Program to import the raw data files and apply the
Procedure Classes Tool to the discharge records in your dataset.
• Load the translation .csv file into SAS so that it becomes a SAS dataset.
• Convert the SAS dataset into a SAS format.
6. Verify that the Tool was loaded properly.
• Confirm that procedure classes were created for each procedure field.
• Confirm that the procedure classes column is populated with numeric values and
the procedure class names column is populated with text.
• Verify that the frequency of procedure codes is equal to the frequency of
procedure classes in your dataset. Because each ICD-10-PCS code is mapped
to Procedure Classes individually, the number of records with a specific
2 The load program was developed using SAS statistical software; however, the program can be easily
adapted for use with other analytic statistical software, such as SPSS or Stata.
HCUP (12/12/17) 3
procedure code should be equal to the number of records with a specific
procedure class.
If you have already downloaded the Tool and need to check for version updates:
1. Check if your existing Software version is the most recent version of the Tool by
navigating to “Downloading Information of the Procedure Classes for ICD-10-PCS Tool”
on the Procedure Classes for ICD-10-PCS Web page.
2. The current version of the Procedure Classes Tool is displayed on the Web page as
“Version YYYY.N”. Because the Procedure Classes for ICD-10-PCS Tool is valid for all
ICD-10-PCS codes, it is recommended that the most up-to-date version always be
applied to your data. Note that older (archived) versions are retained on this page for
informational purposes only.
3. If you have not applied the most current version of the Tool, follow the steps in “If you
are downloading the Tool for the first time” to download and apply the latest version to
your data and ensure that the Tool was loaded properly.
Additional Information and Technical Support
For more information about the Procedure Classes for ICD-10-PCS and other HCUP Tools, visit
the Tools section of the HCUP-US Web site: www.hcup-us.ahrq.gov/tools_software.jsp.
If you have questions about using the HCUP databases, software tools, supplemental files, and
other products, or about data use restrictions and publishing with the data, please contact
HCUP User Support:
• E-mail: hcup@ahrq.gov
• Phone: 866-290-HCUP (4287) (toll free)
• International users, please contact HCUP User Support by e-mail.
