With all that is going on in the world of healthcare, i.e. ICD-10 conversion, electronic medical records, and the new government healthcare program, it is hard to imagine adding to that load. However, sometimes what is an add-on can be a load reliever.
Indexing is important regardless of the content, type, volume or location. That was made even clearer to me when I found this article about a small county courthouse indexing their documents into digital archives for safety in lieu of disasters or identity fraud. Of course we are all for digitizing content for ease in findability as well, but when I realized this article, which I found on Google News, was about a small town just a few miles from my hometown. In fact, my sister lives in this particular town.
Many believe that one of the biggest challenges currently facing the health IT industry is the coding classification transition to ICD-10. Training staff, integrating data, and preparing for financial impact has consumed the healthcare professionals and will continue to do so until implementation in October 2014.
With the preparation for the transition to ICD-10, there is a new interest in population management. This most likely comes from the concerns around financial reimbursement after the implementation in October 2014. There will be five times the number of codes after the implementation of the ICD-10 coding classification. This will allow for greater specificity, but there will be a huge learning curve.
Labeled a trendsetting product for 2012, AnyDocCAPTUREit allows you to scan documents locally or from remote locations. Users can then securely transmit images over the Internet for centralized processing.
Organizations that help manage and analyze medical content have a unique opportunity during this time of ICD-10 transition. Healthcare entities are recognizing the need for sharing clinical data. This trend has been accelerated by the transition. This interesting information was found on Reuters in their article, “Wolters Kluwer Health to Acquire Health Language, Inc., a Leader in the Medical Terminology Management Market.”
For providers who are seeking some feedback and support about their ICD-10 transition plan, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is hosting a series of listening sessions.
As healthcare providers here in the United States prepare for the implementation of ICD-10, it is important to remember that a large number of other countries have already gone through this process and survived. Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, South Korea, and Sweden can be looked to for tips and success stories.
The two giants of social media have always been Facebook and Twitter. A recent change on Facebook's part looks an awful lot like a Twitter tradition. Looking to improve its search and indexing capabilities, Facebook is now adding the hashtag symbol. Admittedly, many users have brought that habit with them from Twitter but for it to be embraced by the rival giant is interesting, to say the least.
It should be no surprise that time is the biggest obstacle for healthcare professionals as they prepare for the ICD-10 conversion. With just over a year and a half left until the October 1, 2014 deadline, a recent survey showed that 74.6% of the respondents are only 25% or less completed in their ICD-10 implementations.