ICD-10 Coding Deadline Quickly Approaching
Is Your Facility Ready for the October 1, 2013 ICD-10 Compliance Date?
Did you know that if your facility does not implement the necessary changes to code under the new ICD-10 mandate, services performed after October 1, 2013 will not be paid? If the necessary precautions are not made to ensure ICD-10 codes are implemented within your electronic health records, the results could have serious financial and operational impacts on your organization. It is anticipated that entities which are not adequately prepared for the ICD-10 transition will experience cash-flow delays, increased back-end adjustments from denied claims, and excessive billing backlogs. Thus, strategic planning will be paramount to a successful migration to ICD-10, as it requires careful coordination and re-evaluations of clinical, financial and administrative work processes.
While the migration to a new version of diagnosis coding has been discussed for more than 20 years, recent concerns over new medical conditions and innovations in medical technology have drove the need to further expand the current ICD-9 coding to a more granular level. The benefit of the new coding structure will be a level of precision that will allow for new technologies and advances in medical treatment to be appropriately recognized for payment and comparative analysis. Additionally, healthcare providers are expected to notice a decrease in the amount of documentation currently required to supplement claims.
While the "go-live" date for ICD-10 seems to be quickly approaching, it is important to note that a five-year implementation time frame was provided. Therefore, those organizations which have yet to prepare for the transition are strongly urged to do. Physicians Independent Management Services, Inc., (PIMS) has been on the forefront of the ICD-10 transition and has been educating our certified coders to ensure they are intimately familiar with the new coding structure. Please contact us if you are interested in learning more about the hands-on training opportunities PIMS can provide for your staff.