Earlier this month, President Barack Obama signed legislation that delays the transition to ICD-10 coding by at least one year.
In the wake of that announcement, providers, health insurers and others who were preparing to make the switch this October have been re-evaluating their implementation plans and awaiting further guidance from CMS (which is coming "soon," according to the agency's website). Part of their recalibration involves physician training initiatives.
Robin Settle, a partner at healthcare consulting firm Kurt Salmon, says it's crucial hospitals and health systems ensure physicians are engaged with ICD-10 preparation efforts, even though the transition won't take place until at least October 2015.
"Physicians say, this is just like the metric system," Ms. Settle says. "The United States is never going to change over, and therefore why should we make this investment? I have seen that and I've heard that, which is why, from a hospital perspective, it's important to continue to keep the momentum, message, communication and awareness going."
Ms. Settle offered the following four tips for adjusting ICD-10 physician training efforts.
1. Communicate and raise awareness. The first step should be rolling out a communications campaign letting physicians know what the hospital or health system plans to do about the delay, according to Ms. Settle.
"I would also step up the awareness for physicians who have what we call rogue databases," she says. "Physicians who do research may not even be aware that they have all kinds of research databases that they use in their office that have ICD-9 as a critical part."
2. Consider computer-assisted coding. Hospitals may have previously passed up computer-assisted coding as part of their training and ICD-10 preparation efforts because of the expense. However, given the delayed deadline, Ms. Settle advises they take a second look.
"Computer-assisted coding programs are getting better and cheaper," she says. "That's something hospitals should now re-evaluate and see how it fits into their overall ICD-10 and revenue cycle portfolios."
3. Reconsider referring physician education. Ms. Settle says she's observed some hospitals have been "very afraid" private physicians who refer patients to the hospital won't be prepared for ICD-10. Now that the deadline has been pushed back, they can work to put those fears to rest through continuing medical education programs or other methods.
"Hospitals were panicked that their referring physician base didn't have an ICD-10 education," Ms. Settle says. "They weren't sure of programs that they could use. Now, hospitals can be more thoughtful."
4. Slow down. Although it's important to keep moving forward, Ms. Settle cautions against going too fast. "Some of the more core detail training you don't want to do too far in advance because they'll lose their skill," she says of physicians. Therefore, she advises hospitals and health systems to adjust the timing and intensity of their training schedules to account for at least another year before the go-live date.
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