Compulsive Reasons For Kick Starting Icd 10 Implementation Program

By Author: jvionhealth health
Total Articles: 11
Comment this article

There are many benefits of shifting from ICD 9 to ICD 10 codes. An ICD 10 implementation program needs to be put in place by health care professionals as soon as possible if they want the transition to be smooth and without glitches.

How it Affects Disbursement

Healthcare providers can expect more accurate payments for procedures, few improper reimbursement claims and fewer rejected claims. They can also expect greater efficiency in ICD 10 reimbursement process. This is because of the increased granularity of ICD 10 codes that will increase auto adjudication of claims. You can expect less number of claims to be rejected or investigated due to insufficient data. ICD 9 was faced with lack of detailed information about diagnosis and procedure codes. ICD 10 encompasses all the latest codes so you can expect less number of rejected claims which will also reduce the need for rework.

Obeying the Law

There may be confusion as to when the new codes will come into force, but whether it is 2013 or 2014, you need to have your icd 10 implementation plan ...
... ready as it’s going to be an expensive transition. There’s no way to avoid it since regulations are in place and you have to adopt them at some time or the other, especially if you want to be reimbursed for government health care programs such as Medicare and Medicaid.

Choose a Professional Outsourcing Firm

The migration to ICD 10 codes is bound to impact your coding and clinical staff. Because of the huge volume of codes, your clinical staff will have to provide better documentation. Your IT staff too will have to find ways to implement new coding tools to minimize inefficiency by staff when the codes are in place. But the ones who will be most affected are the revenue cycle staff. When an initiative as big as this needs to be implemented, the revenue staff will find it difficult to bill and collect revenue. The physician may fail to provide proper documentation; the coding staff may mix up codes etc all of which makes the revenue staff’s job harder.

ICD 10 revenue cycle can be made much more efficient if you choose the services of a professional firm. There are many consultancies already doing this business even though the deadline is nowhere close. If you feel that you may not be ready for the transition or your staff will be unable to cope up with the task, you can seriously consider the services of these firms.

You need to start searching for the best firms as soon as possible as they are going to be extremely busy when the deadline approaches.