ICD-10 – slated for implementation on October 1, 2014, ICD-10 takes coding specificity to a new level. Waiting until 2014 to prepare is disastrous. To adjust to the changes, BCE Healthcare Advisors and the CliniNotes™ Program are here to help. After all, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!
ICD-10 represents one of the biggest changes to the United States healthcare system since the passage of Medicare in 1965. Just as hospitals prepared for DRGs in the early 1980s, hospitals and physicians across the country are ramping up in preparation of ICD-10. In order to be ready by 2014, proper planning, assessment and training need to be introduced now to ensure a smooth transition.
ICD-10 will impact hospitals and physicians in a variety of ways. From payment to claims processing systems to the heightened specificity of clinical documentation, every aspect of the revenue cycle and patient management cycle will be affected. The impact of ICD-10 on physician documentation will require more detailed descriptions of anatomy, positioning and physiology, more precise language, and eliminates “catch-all” codes. BCE Healthcare Advisors educates physicians and team members on how to document appropriately now in order to meet the ICD-10 standards.
Targeted ICD-10 education is the most recent tool in BCE’s armamentarium of direct physician to physician education. With the implementation of ICD-10, a new set of complex rules for documentation make physician education even more critical to the success of any hospital.
ICD-10 education for physicians must be very specific, and unlike documentation training provided in the past by BCE and other educators, the same education tool cannot be used across all specialties in the same manner. BCE recognizes that educating physicians is unique, and has adapted its programs(including ICD-10) with the following considerations:
1. Physician educators, not lawyers, accountants, consultants or nurses, are the most efficient and
successful resource to coach their physician colleagues.
2. Before engaging any group or individuals, a gap analysis should be performed to identify specific
physician and physician group deficiencies.
3. ICD-10 webinars, group lectures, and other educational approaches are important, but a
targeted one-on-one approach is the best way to teach physicians.
Based on our survey of client hospitals, we have identified areas of greatest ICD-10 need: cardiology and cardiac surgery, neurology and neurosurgery, orthopedics, and orthopedic surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, general medicine, and general surgery.
Our CliniNotes™ concurrent documentation program now includes ICD-10 specific information for all major DRG discharges.
