Healthcare organizations are scrambling to upgrade their systems to prepare for the ICD-10 classification transition. The Department of Health and Human Services have required providers to transition to ICD 10 codes on or after October 1, 2013. Millions of dollars are being spent to prepare for this with software and training.
In the world of healthcare, few things have been or will be more challenging or all encompassing as the ICD-10 transition. Healthcare organizations have a huge project on their hands and we wish them great success. However, the good news is ICD-10 could be considered an economical stimulator for the world of technology. More healthcare information technology vendors offer ICD-10 compliant upgrades and products each and every day.
Adara Networks is targeting healthcare for its next virtualization challenge. With their history of providing IT services to the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs, Adara is looking to move their enterprise service buses, which allow compatibility among software applications, to the healthcare field.
Healthcare reimbursement is a complex system as it stands. With the new evolving transition of the medical coding to the ICD-10 classification system, it will be even more complex.
ICD-9 has been the system used for almost 40 years. Coming in October 2013, things will change. The new ICD-10 coding classification system will be in effect with five times the amount of medical codes for healthcare providers to use and diagnosis codes with more digits. Before the billing systems can accommodate the expanded field length for diagnoses, a new format system for electronic billing needs to take place first. This is scheduled to happen in just a few days on January 1, 2012.
The impending ICD-10 transition requires a large scope of work. Organizations that have begun implementing their ICD-10 readiness strategy realize this, others who are farther behind in the process are quickly understanding the challenge that awaits them. One thing is for sure, when it comes to ICD-10, a team effort is required.
Millennium HealthCare has appointed Marc Sherman, MD to the Company Advisory Board. Dr. Sherman has an impressive resume including his current position as the Medical Director of Heartbeat Medical PC, one of the largest cardiology groups in the New York area.
The New Year has promise of bringing health IT-related jobs to the market. With the advance of technology in general and the need for workers with expertise in ICD-10, demand will exceed the supply of talent.
ICD-10 has almost become a dirty word for healthcare providers. In an recent interview, Kevin Weinstein, MBA, vice president of revenue cycle management technology company ZirMed, discussed three challenges facing physicians in regards to ICD-10 implementation.
It is a fear people have had from the beginning of the technology boom. Actually, it probably started at the beginning of the industrial revolution. People fear that workers will be replaced by machinery and technology. Now, one professor is predicting that rapid advancement in technology will, within a couple of years, eliminate the need for some workers and leave the traditional workplace looking for different.