Some facilities plan to use both CPT ® and ICD-10-PCS to code procedures after implementation. Kristi Stanton, RHIT, CCS, CPC, CIRCC, and Angie Comfort, RHIT, CDIP, CCS, discuss the advantages and challenges of this strategy, and how to implement it.
Cross-training coders has definitive short-term advantages, such as enhancing staff coverage during holidays and vacations and increasing the department's ability to handle periods of fluctuation in certain bill types. But coding managers might not realize that these benefits can also help hospitals with long-term preparation for ICD-10. Angie Comfort, RHIT, CCS, and Rose T. Dunn, MBA, RHIA, CPA, FACHE, explain the benefits of cross training coders as ICD-10 approaches.
As hospitals develop more intensive training programs for ICD-10-CM/PCS, coordinators may want to consider how different learning styles will impact the effectiveness of these training sessions. Education has to work for everyone and one size does not necessarily fit all. Victoria Weinert, RHIT, CCS and Lora Ma explain how to get everyone moving in the same direction and prevent coders from going rogue.
Hospitals will still use CPT ® codes to report procedures after ICD-10 is implemented, but some will also code with ICD-10-PCS. Andrea Clark, RHIA, CCS, CPC-H , reviews the advantages and challenges outpatient facilities may face when using ICD-10-PCS.
Q: A patient comes into the ED with sickle cell crisis and is in a lot of pain. The physician states the patient needed “aggressive” pain control for treatment, because what was given in the beginning provided only minimal relief. Could I code using CPT ® code 99285 (ED visit for evaluation and management of a patient, including a comprehensive history, comprehensive exam, and high complexity medical decision making)?
After several delays, ICD-10 implementation is finally upon us. The healthcare industry has spent years planning, training, and testing?and now the moment we have all been waiting for has arrived. But don't breathe a sigh of relief just yet.
ICD-10-PCS implementation is less than a year away, so the pressure is on coders to learn the new system and maintain productivity. Gerri Walk, RHIA, CCS-P, AHIMA-approved ICD-10-CM/PCS trainer, discusses how to overcome some of the challenges inpatient coders will face in ICD-10-PCS.
Physician groups have led much of the resistance against ICD-10 implementation. At its June Delegates meeting, the AMA approved a resolution from W. Jeff Terry, MD, for a two-year grace period to protect physicians from errors and mistakes related to the code set. Terry also authored an AMA resolution to delay ICD-10 in November 2011, which led to postponing implementation until October 1, 2014.
