Is the clash with ICD-10 unavoidable?

October 1, 2015 is the date when healthcare providers must switch from the existing ICD-9 codes to the new and improved ICD-10 code set. The changes seem so extreme that many doctors are still unsure if they’ll be able to adhere to the transition without significant revenue losses.

The change

The existing ICD-9 codes are approximately 17,000 in total, while the updated ICD-10 codes will exceed 155,000 and preparation for these will not only require excess knowledge, but also significant amounts of training and efforts. If your practice is unable to understand, follow and execute these diagnosis-based codes into its workflows in time; you will lose out on a lot of money through Claim Denials and Rejections.

Come October, you will not be allowed to send out claims using ICD-9 codes; you will instead require completely new ones for ICD-10. So how will they differ from the ones in ICD-9? First of all, they will be extremely specific and more comprehensive. That will be in the form of additional sub-codes for each diagnosis and procedure applied. Additionally, the format of ICD-10 codes will differ from their counterparts in ICD-9, and they will have to be learnt all over again.

Workflows at your practice could be disrupted as learning relevant codes from an option base of 155,000 will be no simple task.

What’s important?

On the HealthIT front, your Electronic Health Record (EHR) and Practice Management (PM) solutions will play a big part.  Their vendor’s readiness will be extremely crucial. A foolproof plan for mapping and the actual conversion, options for training, and the availability of software upgrades will be the most important factors.

Now even with a web based EHR and a PM ready for the conversion, there’s still the training of your staff that needs to be handled. Are you looking to hire a ICD-10 team, depute a ICD-10 champion at your practice, or outsource your medical billing? Even then, who will train your nurses, physicians and support staff, and will they be ready before time?

The clash is unavoidable, and preparation is the best way to meet the challenge!

Should a practice Outsource Billing to prepare for ICD 10 Challenge

Should a practice Outsource Billing to prepare for ICD 10 Challenge HD

Our latest webinar “Should a Practice Outsource Billing to Prepare for ICD-10 Challenge?,” presented by CureMD’s senior billing http://goo.gl/gpAsXLexpert Ken Edwards saw 1,500 attendees. In the 30-minute-webinar, which was followed by a Q&A session, the attendees were briefed on how to successfully prepare for the ICD-10 conversion.

Check Out Webinar Video: Here you can also view the slides:

Should a practice outsource billing to prepare for ICD-10 Challenge? from CureMD

How the changes in ICD-10 have more to offer than ICD-9?

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) have set October 1, 2015 as the deadline for the implementation of a new and better International Classification of Diseases (ICD) set of codes, commonly referred to as ICD-10. What this will essentially do is, replace the existing 30-year-old codes commonly referred to as ICD-9 which practices are currently using. Why? Because the system has become obsolete, does not have room for expansion and is not in line with international standards of healthcare being followed by other countries.

The implementation of ICD-10 is a long and tedious process. The CMS has emphasized that the deadline is October 1, 2015. On average, small-to-medium practices will require approximately eight to ten months if they are going to implement this new system. It will require extensive training of support staff in the classification of new rules and the way diseases are also classified. What happens when the ICD-10 deadline expires? Well, the CMS promises to implement heavy fines and penalties on those practices which do not adhere to the new rules.

For Further Read Visit: http://blog.curemd.com/how-the-changes-in-icd-10-have-more-to-offer-than-icd-9/