Modifier Coding Alert
Focus on ICD-10 Prep For a Smooth Transition
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Upfront effort may save your practice from frustration down the road.
ICD-10 implementation is only a few months away and hopefully your office is ready. If you aren’t, there are things that can help you prepare for the transition.
Try these five steps to educate and test your organization in preparation for Oct. 1.
Follow-Through To ICD-10
Step 1: Train a transition team on ICD-10, if you haven’t already.
Example: The education should include clinical documentation, coding, and an overview of ICD-10. This should continue until implementation and beyond.
Step 2: Update any processes that you haven’t already.
Example: Make sure you update authorizations/pre-certifications, physician orders, medical records, superbills/encounter forms, practice management and billing systems, and coding manuals with ICD-10.
Also review how ICD-10 will affect clinical documentation requirements and electronic health record (EHR) templates.
Step 3: Get your vendors involved.
Example: Talk with your payers, billing and IT staff, and practice management system and/or EHR vendors about their preparations and readiness.
Step 4: Test everything that you’ve spent time updating.
Example: Test your system and procedures within your practice or facility and then test them again with any outside affiliations who will have to use what you have updated.
Step 5: Tie it up with a bow.
Communicate the plan, timeline, and new system changes and processes to your organization, and make sure that physicians and staff understand the extent of the effort made for the ICD-10 transition.
Refer to CMS’s ICD-10 Website, www.roadto10.org, for help preparing your practice for ICD-10.
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