The ICD-10 Transition — How’s ICD-10 After Day 60?

So how’s the transition from ICD-9 to ICD-10 since the implementation date? Ten weeks have passed since the ICD-10 transition and now that the wait is over, it’s time to talk about the bigger picture. Is the transition to ICD-10 successful? Are we seeing benefits? Are we seeing more better data AND more better healthcare? These are just a few of the pressing concerns we will talk about in today’s post.

What’s New with ICD-10?

If you work in healthcare, you know all about — or should know about — the International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-10 codes. ICD-10 is the most recently updated version containing 70,000 codes, a significantly higher figure than 13,000 codes included in ICD-9. We note that with electronic medical records increasingly replacing shorthand patient charts, medical coders are expected to find their job more demanding. And last October 1, all healthcare providers had to start using the ICD-10 diagnostic code set to file claims with Medicare, Medicaid and private insurers. Source: http://www.cio.com/article/3008725/healthcare/10-amusing-icd-10-codes-doctors-just-might-need-this-thanksgiving.html

The first few weeks after the transition have been relatively quiet within the industry. Early reports describe initial issues as manageable and localized. However, it is important to watch how the transition unfolds among smaller health plans, individual and small group providers, and community or rural hospitals who may find it more difficult to weather some of the bumps that will be part of stabilization. Source: http://managedhealthcareexecutive.modernmedicine.com/managed-healthcare-executive/news/icd-10-transition-what-s-next

ICD-10 Training with CCO – How To Pass the ICD-10-CM Proficiency Assessment Without Stress Video

ICD-10 Transition at Day 60: Better Data, Not Better Health Care

In an recent article written by Greg Slabodkin regarding ICD-10 transition, they have conducted two separate surveys, one for a consulting firm called Kaiser Permanente Medical Group (KPMG) and the other is for doctors by physician social media network (SERMO). The two new polls show mixed results since the Oct. 1 ICD-10 compliance date went into effect. While a survey by consulting firm KPMG found 79 percent of responding healthcare organizations believe the code transition has been successful to date, a separate survey of doctors by physician social media network SERMO indicates the new billing codes are taking time away from patient care.

Of the 298 respondents in the KPMG survey, only 11% declared their transition to ICD-10 a failure while 51.4% said they had a few technical issues but overall their transition was a success. In addition, 28.3% said the transition was smooth so far.

KPMG survey respondents said the biggest challenges they perceive with ICD-10 include rejected medical claims, clinical documentation and physician education, reduced revenue from coding delays, and information technology fixes. The survey found that 42 percent of participants indicated that all of these challenges are part and parcel of ICD-10., while just 11 percent of respondents said they did not expect those challenges to arise.

“We’re still in that gray area where claims are still being processed by payers, so I would expect the number of technical-related issues to increase in the January/February timeframe,” says Todd Ellis, managing director in KPMG’s healthcare practice. “Very few payments have been made. The ICD-10 journey is not over yet.”

In the SERMO survey, physicians were asked if the new requirement to use ICD-10 has taken away time from patients. Two-thirds of responding doctors said yes. The poll of 1,249 physicians was conducted from November 20 to 30.

“We have seen a decline with our clients in terms of coder productivity by around 10 percent,” he acknowledges, yet emphasizing that it is a far cry from the 30-40 percent reduction reported by other industry surveys. “As we go through this upcoming calendar year, I think that productivity will increase.”

Although it seems the transition to ICD-10 was largely a success, it is clear that more work needs to be done in order to maintain that success.

To learn more about this data, visit http://www.information-management.com/news/data-management/icd-10-at-day-60-better-data-not-better-health-care-10027818-1.html

Do you have some insights to share? Are you one of those peers who says overall it’s successful or are you one of those peers who are still struggling with ICD-10?

In our next post, we will talk about the benefits and long-term impact of ICD-10 transition, new bizzarre ICD-10 codes, and lessons learned during the transition! Stay tuned…

Related ICD-10 Transition Post:

• ICD-10 Training – 4 Things You Need To Know
• Take Your ICD 10 Training To The Next Level
• 20 Amusing and Bizarre ICD-10 Codes