After postponements in 2009, 2012 and 2014, the much-anticipated transition to ICD-10 is on the calendar again — this time for October 2015. Hospitals, health systems and other provider organizations across the nation will feel the impact of the change to the new coding system. With proper preparation, however, these organizations can minimize the negative effects.
The following content is sponsored by Xtend Healthcare.
Is your organization ready for ICD-10?
The transition to ICD-10 will not affect all organizations in the same ways, and not all facilities need to take the same steps to prepare for the change.
Understanding the unique needs of healthcare organizations when it comes to ICD-10 preparation is important to Xtend Healthcare, an end-to-end revenue solutions provider. Xtend has helped healthcare providers meet the challenges of revenue cycle management for more than three decades. The company has worked with organizations in all 50 states — from critical access hospitals to those with more than 2,000 beds, and from individual facilities to multi-hospital health systems.
To develop a clear picture of how the change to ICD-10 will impact an organization, Xtend begins with an onsite assessment. By performing face-to-face interviews, collecting input from various departments and observing an organization's processes and current technology, Xtend determines the ICD-10 readiness of a facility. The company also identifies gaps in education and other issues that need to be addressed before the Oct. 1, 2015 transition date.
The audit is extensive, but each step of the evaluation helps Xtend's team identify the areas within an organization in which ICD-9 is being used and ways to ensure that each of those providers or physicians is prepared for ICD-10.
"Although all of our providers offer similar services, they all use different systems," says Linda Corley, who serves as Xtend's Assistant Vice President of Compliance. "There needs to be general and specific education based on the system being used and the type of service provided."
After performing the assessment and identifying the strengths and weakness of each facility, Xtend provides customized recommendations for ICD-10 preparation.
Preparation and education is key
Healthcare providers are likely to encounter any number of issues with the change to ICD-10, including a decrease in staff productivity, an increase in claim denials and an increase in the amount of time it takes payers to process claims. However, those organizations that have completed the necessary testing and invested the time and resources into properly educating and training coding staff, physicians and others will fare better when the transition officially occurs.
Although Xtend develops unique readiness plans for each client organization, all organizations need to address certain core issues, such as ways to prevent a lull in productivity during the transition to ICD-10.
To address this challenge, Xtend offers personalized coder education approved by AHIMA for both CM and PCS code sets. The training is extensive and includes skill set development for coding staff members, depending on inpatient and outpatient coding assignments, and individual evaluations.
Xtend provides education to physicians as well. Since many physicians have limited time to dedicate to their ICD-10 education and training, Xtend simplifies the process with short, detailed sessions pertinent to the physicians that focus on specialty development and documentation improvement.
Outside of coding staff and physicians, there are others within healthcare organizations that need ICD-10 education. For instance, there are areas of financial services that will need basic education to work with claims and denials. Xtend also works with these individuals to address any challenges they might encounter with ICD-10.
Along with onsite education and training, Xtend provides additional coders to hospitals to make sure that they won't see a significant decline in production after October 1. With the additional coders available to work onsite or offsite, hospitals won't lose time waiting for their own coding staff to get up to speed.
"We're also encouraging all of our clients to have their coders and the coders we provide to be coding in ICD-9 and ICD-10," says Ms. Corley. The dual coding allows physicians and coding staff members to prepare on the job for the transition to ICD-10. Xtend recommends coding in both ICD-9 and ICD-10 for at least 90 days prior to implementation.
Berger Health's proactive approach to ICD-10 preparation
Realizing the need to begin the ICD-10 preparation process early on, Berger Health began working with Xtend almost two years ago to prepare for the transition.
As with all of its clients, Xtend began the process with an extensive audit that identified every process that ICD-10 would touch. Next, Xtend's team provided custom training to Berger's coders.
"Our process is to use the AHIMA training," says Rachel Mitchell, Director of HIM Consulting Services at Xtend. "We start with a boot camp of the basics and follow up weekly. Once our clients are through the training, they are prepared and ready to take any ICD-10 examination."
Although training coding staff is an essential component, Ms. Corley says there's much more to the preparation process. "To me it's not just a coder preparation; it's understanding the processes that need to be added or revised at your facility or practice to be prepared for ICD-10."
By being proactive, Berger and other Xtend clients are ensuring they are able to meet the challenges of the transition to ICD-10, and they're improving their organizations in other ways as well.
"Even though we're doing this for ICD-10, it does help the whole organization because you can improve processes across the organization," says Ms. Corley. "Organizations like Berger need to be recognized for their forethought."
Changing to ICD-10 on solid financial ground — CASH is KING
Along with the training and education that are necessary for a smooth transition to ICD-10, organizations also need to prepare financially for the change. All outstanding accounts receivable need to be collected, and it is best to work down those balances as low as possible before the transition date to ensure facilities go into ICD-10 with improved cash on hand and aged AR backlog resolved.
Xtend assists organizations in achieving this goal by providing services for the entire revenue cycle, including billing services and account follow up services.
By providing services for the entire revenue cycle, Xtend helps organizations improve their financial performance not just in the short term during the transition to ICD-10 but also well into the future.