ICD-10 Implementation: Are You Fit To Be The Champion?

Change always needs a champion.

Sometimes we get dragged into change clutching desperately to familiar habits. Other times, a champion emerges to create some enthusiasm and expectation about a new and better way. ICD-10 is the new and better way. According to a number of industry experts, ICD-10 addresses critical gaps and operating flaws inherent in ICD-9. Further, ICD-10 will allow for the capture of the disease specificity, severity, laterality and better supports exchange of health data between other countries and the United States.

However, the coding change will affect almost every area of the medical practice from scheduling to cash flow. Successful implementation will require extensive planning and coordination so that the many details, such as staff education, contract renegotiation and documentation improvement, can go on without workflow disruption. Implementation is further complicated by the need to continue to use ICD-9 for non-HIPAA entities such as workers compensation and auto insurance. Despite many cautionary articles, many industry experts report that most practices do not yet understand the scope of next year’s transition to ICD-10. . . .. . . . (to read the remainder of this article, please log in below.)