Are you ready for ICD-10

The go-live deadline for ICD-10 isn’t until October 2014, but some health-care organizations are ahead of the curve – and they can offer some good advice for other practitioners.

Start early. While many health-care organizations are ahead of the curve with ICD-10 implementation, with plans to turn on ICD-10 codes and let physicians use them as early as spring 2014, that doesn’t mean they’ll be submitting claims to payers in ICD-10 ahead of time; it simply means that they’ll be practicing. Even if you can do some dual coding, it will help.

Increase awareness. The first step in moving to ICD-10 is awareness. Key staff members need to understand the requirements, the timelines, and any financial impacts. To ensure awareness, some health-care organizations are offering educational seminars, in person or online.

Designate change agents. You can’t implement ICD-10 alone, which is why you’ll need physician champions. This means giving certain physicians the ability to take ICD-10 back into their departments and communicate it to their teams.

Offer peer-to-peer training. Chances are physicians in your organization don’t want someone without an understanding of their specialties to train them for ICD-10. The solution: Let physicians offer the training, once they understand the ICD-10 codes themselves.

If you are looking for a way to better prepare for or implement ICD-10, please contact us today.