The transition from the ICD-9 medical coding system to ICD- - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1
Slide2

The transition from the ICD-9 medical coding system to ICD-10 will have a profound impact on all HIPAA-compliant businesses and organizations. In addition to adding thousands of new medical codes, ICD-10 also introduces a new coding structure, more documentation, and changes to software and information technology.Slide3

ICD-10 is set to go into effect on October 1st, 2015. Once it does, some of the changes that will go into effect include:

Increasing the number of diagnosis codes from around 13,000 to around 68,000, and the number of procedure codes from 11,000 to 72,000.

Switching from codes that are 3-5 digits long to codes that are 3-7 digits.

Changing from a primarily numeric form of code to an alpha-numeric one.Slide4

Because of the scope of the changes between ICD-10 and ICD-9, the upgrade will require attentive oversight from medical practices’ senior management. Changes will need to be made that include staff retraining, updates to workflow and IT systems, and bringing EHR (electronic health record) systems into compliance with the new medical coding scheme.Slide5

In order to work with ICD-10, medical practices’ internal workflows and IT systems will need to be able to accommodate the changes. Questions that practice managers need to ask themselves include:

How will workflows change with the introduction of ICD-10?

Can existing IT infrastructure process the new medical coding scheme?

What changes need to be made to both to make the transition as smooth as possible?Slide6

Practices that have already adopted EHR (electronic health record) systems will need to confirm that their existing system will be able to handle the transition to ICD-10. Those practices that have not yet adopted an EHR system will need to find one that can handle both ICD-9 and ICD-10, so that both old and new records can be uploaded without issue.Slide7

The transition to ICD-10 will also lead to a likely increase in documentation costs for physicians. According to a study by

Nachimson

Advisors, LLC, the cost of documentation activities is likely to increase by between 15 and 20% for most practices, while the amount of time doctors spend on documentation will increase 3 to 4%.

1

Other related expenses include manuals, training materials, software and IT upgrade costs, and employee retraining.Slide8

Due to the extensive changes to medical coding with ICD-10, employees who are required to know and/or be certified in medical coding will have to be retrained. It is in practices’ best interests to enroll their key staff members in medical coding classes ASAP, if they have not already done so. AAPC Certified Coders will have to pass another proficiency exam to retain certification. They must demonstrate proficiency by no later than December 31

st

2015.Slide9

Making sure that staff members are trained in ICD-10 will not just make the transition smoother, it will also save medical practices money. Because of the increased specificity of ICD-10 medical codes, practices will have to include more detailed descriptions to insurance providers to get their reimbursements in a timely manner. Getting staff trained in ICD-10 will prevent miscommunications, stop errors from occurring, and protect the financial stability of medical practices.Slide10

LS Coding & Education LLC offers code training and certification classes that combine the convenience of

e

-learning with the educational experience of sitting in an actual classroom. For more information or to sign up for our medical coding classes, visit

certifiedcodertraining.com

today.Slide11

http://www.nachimsonadvisors.com/Documents/ICD-10%20Impacts%20on%20Providers.pdf

Slide12

Summary

The transition from ICD-9 to ICD-10 will lead to fundamental changes to medical coding. Medical practices should prepare for these changes by ensuring that their internal workflows and systems can handle the transition, and by retraining key staff members in ICD-10.