Radiology Coding Alert

Ask yourself these top 7 questions before October this year. Get into action if you identify any incomplete tasks in this checklist for ICD-10-CM readiness.

1. Have you contacted all your vendors, such as payers, clearinghouses, and laboratory, pathology, or radiology vendors, to ensure they are ICD-10-CM compliant?
2. Have you tested submitting codes from your Practice Management system to your payers and clearinghouses and submitting orders (labs/diagnostics/imaging studies) from your EHR to appropriate vendors with ICD-10-CM codes?
3. Have you identified the key 20-30 diagnoses codes and trained appropriate staff on ICD-10-CM language, criteria, and rules for coding, billing, and clinical documentation? The top diagnoses codes can be based on the volume of key diagnoses in your practice and the revenue these generate for you.
4. Have you optimized all preferences and enhancements, such as Billable Indicators and Clinical Qualifiers, within your systems to assist in the ICD-10-CM transition?
5. Have you reviewed current clinical documentation and identified gaps for ICD-10-CM requirements?
6. Have you updated both your Practice Management and electronic health records (EHR) for ICD-10-CM compliance? If necessary, have you loaded the ICD-10 dictionaries in both your Practice Management and EHR applications?
7.  Have you considered updating your existing Encounter Forms to include ICD-10-CM codes to meet the ICD-10 requirements? Do you have a system in place to identify and rectify errors?