I was hoping that someone on this list could explain a protocol they have successfully used to import ICD-9 codes into a database (I know that Tim Cook did this with FreePM, but I could not find any details on his method).  I am using PostgreSQL and it has a COPY function for importing data from text files.  However, the ICD-9 text files generated by the software provided by the Department of Health and Human Services/HCFA are not tab-delimited, etc. (it seems only spaces and carriage returns separate the codes).  In addition, the ICD-9 code set has a very strange hierarchical structure with many “see also” links, etc. Of course exporting the codes in RTF format preserves this structure, but can not be imported into the DB by any method that I am aware of.  Any help is appreciated.

 

-Matias Klein

HealthNetworks.com

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