Health Imagining: ICD-10 at a Glance

The ICD-10 changeover, regardless of implementation date, will not be a quick fix. We know that the process will take time and a great deal of effort. “Practices can’t simply buy a new code book and be ready the next day,” says Rhonda Buckholtz, CPC, CPMA, CPC-I, CENTC, CGSC, COBGC, CPEDC vice president of ICD-10 training and education in the May/June issue of Health Imagining magazine.

Highlighted in the piece is how the specifics of ICD-10 will aid physicians in their coding procedures. “Physicians can spell out to payors the exact clinical condition of a patient with ICD-10. When additional services or procedures are billed under ICD-9, the codes may not justify the additional procedure. Often, additional paperwork or audits are required. ICD-10 should clearly spell out the condition without the extra paperwork,” says Buckholtz.