At the Becker's Hospital Review Annual Meeting in Chicago on May 11, Deborah Grider, senior manager of revenue cycle at Blue and Co., discussed ICD-10 and what it means for healthcare organizations.
ICD-10 will take effect on Oct. 1, 2014; however, around 50 percent of organizations haven't started preparing, according to Ms. Grider. It is essential that organizations start preparing because the transition will affect every department of the organization. "This is the largest change ever to happen in healthcare," said Ms. Grider.
ICD-10 presents several challenges. One of the biggest challenges is documentation. "Documentation is going to become more specific than ever," said Ms. Grider. The U.S. version of ICD-10 has over 69,000 codes. The new documentation requires physicians to document the injury that occurred, the place where it occurred, the activity the person was engaged in when the injury occurred and the status of the person when the injury occurred.
According to Ms. Grider, the key obstacles that healthcare organizations face include physician resistance to change and the need for skilled coders. Since there is a lack of skilled coders, organizations will have to implement incentive plans for coders to keep them from leaving.
Ms. Grider closed the discussion by warning healthcare organizations of a dip in physician productivity after implementation of ICD-10. It will take clinicians time to learn how to use the new systems effectively and efficiently.
ICD-10 will take effect on Oct. 1, 2014; however, around 50 percent of organizations haven't started preparing, according to Ms. Grider. It is essential that organizations start preparing because the transition will affect every department of the organization. "This is the largest change ever to happen in healthcare," said Ms. Grider.
ICD-10 presents several challenges. One of the biggest challenges is documentation. "Documentation is going to become more specific than ever," said Ms. Grider. The U.S. version of ICD-10 has over 69,000 codes. The new documentation requires physicians to document the injury that occurred, the place where it occurred, the activity the person was engaged in when the injury occurred and the status of the person when the injury occurred.
According to Ms. Grider, the key obstacles that healthcare organizations face include physician resistance to change and the need for skilled coders. Since there is a lack of skilled coders, organizations will have to implement incentive plans for coders to keep them from leaving.
Ms. Grider closed the discussion by warning healthcare organizations of a dip in physician productivity after implementation of ICD-10. It will take clinicians time to learn how to use the new systems effectively and efficiently.