The MOG Project, Pediatric Neurologist Secure CDC Approval to Adopt ICD-10 Code for Rare Disease MOGAD
OLNEY, Md., Oct. 2, 2023 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- The MOG Project, a nonprofit organization committed to supporting the research and treatment of Myelin Oligodendrocyte Glycoprotein Antibody Disease (MOGAD) announced that its Executive Director Julia Lefelar, with support from The MOG Project Executive Board and Children's Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) Pediatric Neurologist Jonathan Santoro, MD, secured approval to have the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) create an ICD-10 code for MOGAD. As of October 1, 2023, an official code for MOGAD is included in the 10th edition of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) and Related Health Problems, which is relied upon by physicians and insurance providers to classify diagnoses and advise treatment.
- Without a CDC code, MOGAD patients had previously been grouped in with patients with similar diseases like neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder, optic neuritis, acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, transverse myelitis and even multiple sclerosis.
- "For the MOGAD community, this CDC code is more than a win for better health outcomes and fewer insurance delays, it gives our rare disease an identity and legitimizes it."
- "The addition of a MOGAD specific ICD-10 code allows patients to better access the therapies that they need to treat their disease," said Santoro.
- "Further, it allows for disease monitoring across the country, which will increase knowledge and research on this rare neuroimmunology disorder."