Icd-9 And Icd-10 Transition

How many times have your ICD-10 leadership team asked themselves the question, are we ready for the conversion? The clock is ticking and there’s very little time left for the healthcare organizations that are behind schedule. On October 1, 2015 the healthcare industry will begin to use, process, and exchange ICD-10. Providers and practices should be preparing themselves for the transition and approaching the implementation with confidence.

A core element of confidence building is showing the professionals how to value and use information adopted for coded data. This type of information has the power to describe medical necessity in support of admissions, readmission’s and continued stays. An example I would like to give is, by pinpointing

This will help you to determine what individuals are capable of leading specific ICD-10 projects, and also identify a leader who will be responsible for managing and coordinating all ICD-10 related projects. While it may seem overwhelming, it is possible to smoothly make the transition. I have put together a few steps that I think would help prepare you for a successful transition.

Understand ICD-10. Review the major differences between ICD-9 and ICD-10 and how the differences between the two will affect the physician’s specialty as well as your organization.
Educate yourself and billing staff so you can provide the proper support. You should coordinate staff training and you should consider training vendors that will work best for your practice. If you order your training materials early to avoid backorder.
Create a financial plan. Review the practices budget and secure funding options in case of payment delays due to payer issues, rejections and/or denials. You should plan for three months but have a contingency plan just in case it lasts