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Volume 28, No. 41
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Code change File photo
A patient receives treatment inside a hospital. BY VICTORIA ESPINOZA
Public input shifts
Smithtown board votes to reform public comment portion of meetings
PAGE A3
Hospitals across the North Shore and the country have been adapting to an entirely new set of medical codes over the last two months, completely changing the system in which a patient’s diagnosis is detailed. As of October, all hospitals
across the United States switched to the ICD-10 system, which allows for more than 14,000 different codes and permits the tracking of many new diagnoses. ICD-10, an international medical classification system by the World Health Organization, requires more specificity than the previous code system. Doctors at North Shore
facilities said they agreed that although it’s time-consuming and has slowed productivity, it is more beneficial to patients in the end. Dr. Michael Grosso, chairman of medicine at Huntington Hospital said these new codes should help make it easier for symptoms of various diseases to be tracked. According to Gross, prepara-
tion for the new code started two years ago with a required education program for all physicians that described what all the new codes meant. “Physicians are being called upon to provide more specificity and detail,” Grosso said in a phone interview. He described the codes HOSPITALS continued on page A10
Smithtown schools combat Suffolk’s drug concerns BY PHIL CORSO
Smithtown Central School District, in conjunction with the Suffolk County Police Department, its PTAs, the Board of Education, Project Presence and many other community organizations, hosted a Parent University community forum on heroin and prescription drug education and awareness on Dec. 1. During the event, attendees heard information on the dangers of prescription medication and heroin abuse, and learned how to recognize the signs of drug abuse among teenagers, and the tools and actions parents can take to help their child.
Following the forum, members of the police department offered training on Narcan, a prescription medication that can reverse an overdose by blocking the effects of opioids. SCPD’s Operation Medicine Cabinet was on hand to safely discard expired or unwanted prescription medication. “Our goal is to increase education and awareness, and build protective factors and preventative skills for families with a series of follow-up workshops,” said Jennifer Bradshaw, assistant superintendent for instruction. “These Parent University forums align with our district goal to educate the whole student.”
Photo from Smithtown Central School District
Smithtown Central School District Superintendent of Schools Dr. James Grossane addressed the attendees at the Parent University forum on heroin and prescription drug education on Dec. 1.