The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) recently released the Comorbidity Software, Version 3.7 for use with databases available from the Agency's Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) or other administrative healthcare databases.

The Clinical Classifications Software (CCS) for ICD-9-CM is a diagnosis and procedure categorization scheme that can be employed in many types of projects analyzing data on diagnoses and procedures. CCS is based on the International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM). The ICD-9-CM's array of codes—currently at over 14,000 diagnosis codes and 3,900 procedure codes—are collapsed into a smaller, more manageable number of clinically meaningful categories. For researchers interested in presenting descriptive statistics, CCS can be more useful than individual ICD-9-CM codes. For example, CCS can be used to identify populations for disease- or procedure-specific studies, or to develop statistical reports providing information (such as charges and length of stay) about relatively specific conditions.

The Clinical Classifications Software is available for download from the Tools & Software page on the HCUP-US Website. For more information, please visit the Clinical Classifications Sorftware page, or contact the HCUP Central Distributor by e-mail at HCUPDistributor@ahrq.gov.