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Medical Coding, 2nd Edition
book

Medical Coding, 2nd Edition

by Patricia Aalseth
August 2014
Beginner to intermediate
320 pages
6h 35m
English
Jones & Bartlett Learning
Content preview from Medical Coding, 2nd Edition

CHAPTER 1

Medical Coding in History

The Black Death

Medical coding in its earliest form started as an attempt to avoid the Black Death. The bubonic plague, caused by the bacteria Yersinia pestis, arrived in Sicily via ship rats in 1347. It spread rapidly, reaching England in 1348. Almost half the city of London’s population of 70,000 died of the disease over the next 2 years. Given that life expectancy at the time was about 26 years and about 35% of children died before the age of 6, the Black Death contributed to the increased demise of the already death-ridden populace.

Italian author Giovanni Bocaccio lived through the plague in Florence in 1348. In his book The Decameron (1921), he describes how the Black Death got its name:

In men and women ...

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Publisher Resources

ISBN: 9781284054576