The ICD 10 transition has been in healthcare news for a few years now, it has even been postponed. However now that it is happening this October 1st, are you and your office really ready? There is more to the transition than just knowing what new code you will be using.
Computer software-Think of all computer applications you currently use. Make sure those will be ready to go live October 1st. You will also need to find out what you will need to do to ensure the applications will work correctly. Do you need to download the new codes, or change the outbound claim set up within the system? Make sure someone in the office contacts each of the applications’ customer service department to facilitate this.
Codes-Do you know which codes you will be using for your current patients? If not, that needs to be resolved. Also you will want to have a “cheat sheet” for your commonly used codes and the ICD 10 possibilities for the future. Most codes do NOT have a direct one to one correlation so you will need to have all the code possibilities on that list.
Paperwork-Think of every paper or form in your office that contains diagnoses and/or codes. This includes but is not limited too-patient questionnaires, superbills, authorization forms, insurance verification forms, etc. Each of these items will need to be updated with the new codes as well.
This transition is not something to be taken lightly. You will have to designate at least one person to accomplish all of these tasks ASAP. These items need to be completed before October 1st. The insurance companies are going to have a hard time processing all the claims that are coded correctly and payments will be delayed. If your claims processing systems are already incorrect, you can bet your payments are going to be delayed exponentially.
Should you need someone with ICD 10 experience to complete these processes for you, or you just don’t have additional extra staff for the workload, contact us. We can help.
Computer software-Think of all computer applications you currently use. Make sure those will be ready to go live October 1st. You will also need to find out what you will need to do to ensure the applications will work correctly. Do you need to download the new codes, or change the outbound claim set up within the system? Make sure someone in the office contacts each of the applications’ customer service department to facilitate this.
Codes-Do you know which codes you will be using for your current patients? If not, that needs to be resolved. Also you will want to have a “cheat sheet” for your commonly used codes and the ICD 10 possibilities for the future. Most codes do NOT have a direct one to one correlation so you will need to have all the code possibilities on that list.
Paperwork-Think of every paper or form in your office that contains diagnoses and/or codes. This includes but is not limited too-patient questionnaires, superbills, authorization forms, insurance verification forms, etc. Each of these items will need to be updated with the new codes as well.
This transition is not something to be taken lightly. You will have to designate at least one person to accomplish all of these tasks ASAP. These items need to be completed before October 1st. The insurance companies are going to have a hard time processing all the claims that are coded correctly and payments will be delayed. If your claims processing systems are already incorrect, you can bet your payments are going to be delayed exponentially.
Should you need someone with ICD 10 experience to complete these processes for you, or you just don’t have additional extra staff for the workload, contact us. We can help.
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