Turn the Delay into an Advantage
By Anita Archer, CPC
Twitter: @HayesManagement
Now that the reality of ICD-10’s delay is sinking in, it is important to stay focused. Clients have asked us what they can do, how their peers are handling the delay, and whether there is there a silver lining. We believe there are some ways you can turn this delay into an advantage, starting with an overall inventory of where your organization stands in its readiness for ICD-10.
One of the first things that we recommend you do is to assess your employees’ reactions to the delay. Organizations whose employees have worked hard and were on schedule to meet the deadline are likely discouraged (and who can blame them?). Other organizations’ employees may be saying “phew” because they were scrambling. Listen to employees, and then continue your preparations. Take time to re-evaluate your ICD-10 plan, re-strategize your timeline, and deploy your resources as needed.
The good news
You now have time to be more methodical and conduct comprehensive testing. This will help when you go live with ICD-10, as it affects every part of your organization. The added time for testing also gives payers, clearinghouses and other vendors extra time to be compliant. Improved accuracy will not only help claims get paid faster, but also increase revenue collections. Our webinar will expand on the silver lining of the ICD-10 delay and help you recalibrate your ICD-10 preparation planning. Register here for our webinar.
Continue to dual code and improve clinical documentation
Many of our clients are taking this time to continue dual coding as it reinforces the training that has already been invested. By the time October 2015 comes around, physicians and coders will be more familiar and comfortable with ICD-10, resulting in a smoother transition. We do recommend holding off on formal physician training until closer to the go-live date so that the content and learning will be fresh.
Clinical documentation is another opportunity caused by the delay. We recommend that you continue to work on improving clinical documentation. Improved documentation strategies deployed now can impact better reimbursement with ICD-9 code sets today. Better documentation and coding will hopefully help offset the permanent expected loss of productivity (15%) with ICD-10 code sets.
Remember why we are doing ICD-10
There is no doubt that preparation for ICD-10 code set compliance is one of the largest initiatives in healthcare in the U.S. When you are in the weeds of it, it may help to step back and remember that we are moving to ICD-10 to improve the quality of patient care and reduce costs. The documentation will help meet the increased urgency to link quality with payment. By instituting ICD-10, we will catch up with so many other countries that have been using ICD-10 for the past 30 years.
We are hosting a webinar on May 1 entitled, ICD-10: The Silver Lining, which will help you assess your next steps. Register here for our webinar.
About the author: Anita Archer leads Hayes’ Regulatory and Compliance Services division. She brings a tremendous blend of multi-specialty billing and revenue cycle management, project management, and system implementation experience. Her expertise further includes education for multi-disciplinary healthcare professionals, and development and leadership of ICD-10 assessment, planning, migration, and education services. Her team and Hayes clients benefit from Anita’s 28 years in the industry, her extensive subject matter knowledge, management skills, and ability to build relationships with all levels of healthcare management. Anita is also an AAPC Certified Professional Coder, an AHIMA Approved ICD-10/PCS Trainer, and ICD-10 Ambassador. This article was originally published on Hayes Management Consulting and is republished here with permission.