The October 1, 2013 deadline for ICD-10 coding classification transition could mean zero payments for some healthcare providers. The transition from ICD-9 to ICD-10 results in five times the number of procedures codes. Therefore, poor planning and training could affect the financials.
No one is oblivious (or shouldn’t be) to the impact that the ICD-10 implementation will have on budgets. Training, software and process delay (especially for smaller facilities) could potentially cause some real and lasting financial problems.
The American Health Information Management Association is urging the health care industry to continue working toward implementation of the ICD-10 coding system. This is a contrast to the American Medical Association's efforts to block the coding change.
Many turn to auto-classification systems to find some level of consistency and scalability, especially when (and this is very common) there are more than one indexer tagging content. There seems to be a feeling that moving to auto-classification systems requires a sacrifice of rich and quality indexing.
The American Medical Association is appealing to Speaker of the House John Boehner to halt the ICD-10 coding classification transition. Many are questioning whether this is a political decision and should be drug into the boxing ring of the government. With a compliance deadline of October 2013, it seems a little late to stop that particular train.
MedAptus’s Professional Intelligent Charge Capture solution was named the Mobile Data Systems Category Leader by KLAS. This twice awarded honor was based on positive customer feedback in areas such as product quality, implementation and support.
With the large ICD-10 implementation looming in the not so distant future, many think that providers need to put more of an emphasis on planning and organization when it comes to these types of projects.
McLeod Software has released a new version of their DocumentPower Enterprise business process management and automation solution. This new version includes an expanded set of bar code capabilities and enhancements that gives companies greater flexibility and accuracy in auto-indexing.
With all the talks about the inconvenience and challenges of the ICD-10 coding transition, a common argument is that it will not benefit patient care. Considering medical coding is not an actual treatment for patients, that is probably true. However, as it improves the system as a whole, wouldn’t patients benefit somehow, even if it is remotely?
With the transition to ICD-10 coding classification system expected to take effect in less than two years, providers are facing changes in virtually every corner of their organizations. Many IT professionals have stepped up to to help them prepare. McKesson recently announced an ICD-10 Transition Service that takes a three-step approach to help organizations move to the new coding system regardless of their information systems vendor. The service starts with a readiness assessment, to compare the provider's current technology.