ICD
is needed to regulate codes for the medical conditions and the
procedures. While many nations around the world currently using the
ICD-10, the USA has yet to embrace this established practice. As ICD-10
codes are much more precise compared to ICD-9, physicians can certainly
fetch even more information, it simply means that they can better learn
about crucial details regarding the patient’s health as compared to
ICD-9-CM. Somewhere around 660 providers along with billing companies
presented about 15,000 test claims. The effective testing consistently
put on track for the effective implementation of the significant step
that better demonstrates the modern practice of medicine by 1st of
October 2015. Healthcare professionals use codes with the ICD in order
to record the health conditions of their patients and also record
in-patient hospital procedures.
The
USA is the only major industrialized country yet to move to ICD-10. The
system of ICD-9, that is over 35 years old, restricts a number of new
codes which can be created, and several ICD-9 categories are full.
Providers of ICD-10 room for the code expansion, so that providers could
use codes even more accurately towards patient diagnoses. While the
ICD-10 date for implementation draws near, the Centers for Medicare and
Medicaid Services (CMS) is expects the industry is ready for the major
changes that it's going to experience because of the new coding system.
It is very important that the providers are working with the resources
available and also are providing required training to their staffs in
order to successfully get the transition. When they are not prepared,
their practices are going to be negatively affected while processing and
filing claims.
In
order to have health professionals updated on the time that they have
prior to October 1, the CMS has started with a countdown on their
website. Providers and the payers are left with a couple of months
before they must change to the ICD-10 codes. Professionals in healthcare
may already know the numbers of days exactly remaining to the deadline,
however, many are still not as ready as they ought to be to ensure a
smooth transition. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has
offered many online resources such as the Road to 10 guides. Having said
that, a current survey done by the Workgroup for Electronic Data
Interchange (WEDI) indicated that just 25% of providers are ready, which
indicates that such resources have perhaps turned out to be unhelpful
or maybe haven't been used as much as they should.
Healthcare
industry is starting to show concern since the implementation date gets
closer, as per a study by CNBC. Small practices particularly are
increasingly becoming concerned. EHR Intelligence pointed out that
though there is presently so much fear growing within the healthcare
industry, providers need to target on the good aspects about the new
coding system that offers. For instance, it's going to enhance
diagnostic codes and remove the ones that are not relevant, finally
improving the entire care standard. To less than 3 months left before
the state changes from ICD-9 to ICD-10 coding, CMS and the American
Medical Association (AMA) declared more efforts in helping physicians to
get prepared before the October 1 deadline. CMS is offering more
assistance that will provide freedom in the claims auditing as well as
quality reporting process since the medical community gets experience
with the new ICD- 10 code set.
It
is undeniable that the transitioning from ICD-9 to ICD-10 will
certainly increase the number of codes from 17,000 to 140,000. This
clear growth draws attentions to necessity for the providers to
effectively train their practice, and it also indicates the way this new
detailed data will be helpful to the physicians while effectively
diagnosing their patients. As stated in the Journal of AHIMA, providers
and the payers shouldn't expect for yet another ICD-10 delay, as the
United States House of Representatives have recently passed the
Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) bill on a vote of 392 to 37 while not
stating anything regarding a delay.
Realizing
that providers of health care need help in the transition, the Centers
for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the American Medical Association
are trying to make certain that the physicians along with other
providers are prepared prior to the transition to ICD-10 which will
occur on October 1. Contacting the providers of health care all over the
nation, both CMS and AMA will train providers through on-site training,
educational articles, webinars and national provider calls that will
help doctors along with other healthcare providers find out about the
updated codes as well as get ready for the transition.
At Mindfire Solutions, we have been providing custom healthcare application development services to our esteemed clients for more than 11 years now. Our healthcare team can help you migrate from ICD 9 to ICD 10. Please feel free to write to us in case of any custom healthcare needs and we will revert back in one business day.
