In April 2015, Senate Passes the SGR Bill which means there is not going to be ICD-10 implementation delay. This brings the healthcare community towards the Oct 1, 2015 implementation deadline and creates an increased urgency for healthcare professionals and medical service providers that have not done so already, to prepare for the new medical code set. ICD 10 is going forward, therefore physicians and any other medical professionals need to be trained for these more detailed codes.
The ICD 10 code set is the mandated replacement of the ICD-9 code sets used by practitioners to report healthcare assessment to payers and other institutions. Upcoming October implementation will radically change the way documentation and coding is done. With increased pressure to prepare to the immense changes in medical coding, providers nationwide should increase their efforts now more than ever to get to know the new code set.
The Nationally mandated code set that defines patient’s condition provides greater definition to patient’s condition detail including severity, complexity, comorbid and complications. Providers will be fully responsible to assign new ICD 10 codes to each patient’s condition. The responsibility of diagnosing patient’s conditions and assigning appropriate ICD10 diagnosis codes for claims falls on the medical providers, not on their biller counterparts.
All Medical providers need to be fully prepared to use the ICD-10 codes correctly since the responsibility of diagnosing the patient and assigning the appropriate ICD-10 code falls on healthcare providers. Billers, on their part need an excellent foundation and knowledge of using the code set appropriately. By taking steps now to make a successful transition, provides will increase their efficacy in implementing the plan.
With less than five month to go, it is now the time to accelerate provider preparation to ICD10 which will be directly related to compliance, revenue and patient care.
WCH team is currently testing with insurances that are already for the early submission of claim in ICD 10 format.
