Tags:
We want to welcome ACCESS Family Care to the ICD-10 Jungle!
The first formal meeting took place today with the executive team. Cynthia Warner took is through a presentation that included timelines, committee structure and some expectations that need to take place along the path towards October 1, 2014 when ICD-10 is supposed to hit. Any organization that provides healthcare will have to convert from ICD-9 to the upgraded coding. All healthcare plans including Medicare and Medicaid are supposed to make the transition and those who don’t comply won’t be able to pay or receive payment. That should motivate them all.
What is ICD-10? This link will help.
Here’s a link that briefly clarifies some of this.
For a little detail on what the differences look like between ICD-9 and ICD-10, click here for a nice snapshot from the AMA. As you read towards the bottom of this you will see the statement, “the move to ICD-10 will not be easy.”
That’s why we are taking formal preparation to the forefront. Although the due date for implementation has been pushed back a few times—we know it’s coming and everyone is being advised to actively pursue full preparation by the October 1 deadline.
Converting to electronic medical records, Meaningful Use, NCQA, and PCHH all impacted our company to different degrees, but the ICD-10 conversion will impact all areas and all departments from the back office to the front, medical, billing, finance, and even dental.
Here’s what we have in our favor:
- Government guidance (that should give you all sorts of confidence, right?)
- Support from Missouri Primary Care Association
- The smartest and most hardworking people at ACCESS who know how to make the seemingly impossible possible
Our own Cynthia Warner is on this. Cynthia remembers the work that took place in a private industry in preparation for Y2K and she likens this to that conversion. Cynthia also is very pleased with the preparation that Centricity is making for the conversion. It looks as if they will have a “crosswalk” program that will help with suggestion and conversion from old codes to the new ones.
As Dr. Bentlage points out, this will be much for drastic for urgent care where many different patient situations present themselves, but most of our coding is often routine even when the patient themselves might be far from routine.
But, even with these positives, we are preparing for the worse types of scenarios, yet hoping for the best. We are facing this as if it were the hardest thing we have ever done, that way as we go through it we won’t be as shaken with obstacles, barriers, and other yet unknown hurdles.
Although there will be appropriate and thorough training provided for staff, there is a short time frame for testing and implementing changes to various systems and processes.
I do believe that the several previous change experiences that we have recently successfully surmounted serve as experience to help us through this next big one. In other words, you have proven time again that you can roll with change.
Take a deep breath right now, slowly exhale. You can do this—I know you can. No doubt about it.
Welcome to the ICD-10 Jungle and another adventure in healthcare!
dmcb