ICD 10 Coding Alert

Heed these key advantages to early ICD-10 mastery.If you've been avoiding the prospect of diving into ICD-10-CM, it's time to face the music. The good news is it's probably a lot less scary than you think. Taking small steps now to accustom yourself and your physicians to ICD-10-CM means that you'll be ahead of the game before October 1, 2013 hits. Remember, you won't have any grace period.Use these six questions and answers -- and the examples that follow -- provided by Suzanne Leder, BA, M. Phil., CPC, COBGC, Certified AHIMA ICD-10 Trainer, executive editor with The Coding Institute, to set your training in motion:1. Why should I learn ICD-10 now?The shift from ICD-9 to ICD-10 will not be simple. Productivity in your practice will be an issue prior to and after implementation. In other words, it will take longer for you to code your claims in ICD-10 until you're finished with the learning curve. Imagine too that you're going to have to ask your physicians to clarify their documentation so you can get to that ultra specific code.You'll probably see an increase in billing inquiries from payers. You'll also probably encounter an increased number of adjustments and pending or suspended claims. That's why getting a jump start is such a wise decision. The more you can streamline this, the more you can assist your practice's bottom line.Heads up, CPCs: Did you know that Certified Professional Coders (CPCs) will have tore-take the diagnosis portion of the exam? But stop and look at it this way: If you begin learning ICD-10 now, then you'll be in more demand in the very near future. Being on the cutting edge means that you're more marketable in the medical coding healthcare field, which definitely seems like a good idea in the current economy.According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, healthcare is the largest US industry. Healthcare will generate three million new jobs through 2016 -- more than any other industry. If you're ICD-10 trained, you'll have the advantage. So this seems more like an opportunity rather than a chore.2. Who else is using ICD-10?Obviously, adoption here in the US has been slow, but other countries around the world have already been using it.Countries that have adopted ICD-10:Australia (since 1998)Canada (since 2000)France (since 2005)GermanyKoreaSwedenThailand.3. Why is ICD-9-CM Changing?"Frankly, ICD-9-CM is running out of room. Let's think about what 'running out of room' means," Leder says. The first digit of an ICD-9-CM code is a number, which limits code options. For instance, the code for osteoporosis is 733.01 right now. The "7" is the first digit. In ICD-9-CM, we can only go from 0-9. In ICD-10-CM, you'll report M81.0 for osteoporosis. The "M" is the first digit, meaning that [...]