CMS has posted two new frequently asked questions (FAQs) about ICD-10 national provider teleconferences and the partial code freeze. To access these FAQs, please visit the CMS ICD-10 webpage , click...
Before you can think about implementing ICD-10, you need to be sure your numerous Hospital Information Systems (HIS) and Practice Management Systems (PMS) are upgraded for the change. It can be a...
As many of you know, before we switch to ICD-10-CM/PCS, we first will be transitioning to HIPAA Version 5010. In fact, that date is less than one year away. By January 1, 2012, providers need to be...
This series of entries will not follow a random bi-weekly topic but will focus on the chronological transition to ICD-10 readiness. My intent is to dispel myths and compare real-world experience in...
CMS recently posted agendas for what will be the last ICD-9-CM Coordination & Maintenance Committee meeting to address code updates for ICD-9 and ICD-10 before the partial code freeze is...
A common question I have been asked lately is whether coders should receive ICD-10 training now, or should they wait until much closer to the implementation date of October 1, 2013? Comments by some...
I was talking with a friend of mine recently about the transition to ICD-10. He is a very good doctor who prefers to leave the “administrative details” to his capable office manager. Although he...
In previous versions of the ICD-10-CM Draft Manual , we were all under the impression that certain conditions, such as malignant versus benign hypertension and uncontrolled versus not stated as...
CMS included nine topics related to ICD-10-CM/PCS on its tentative agenda for the ICD-9-CM Coordination and Maintenance Committee meeting March 9-10. This is the final meeting to address ICD-9-CM and...
So you still think you have plenty of time before the switch to ICD-10-CM/PCS happens, right? After all it’s still too early to start learning the codes. But what have you done to prepare? According...
Physicians who are part of a practice do go to the hospital to deliver babies, provide consults, and perform surgeries. So does that mean coders in a physician’s office will need to learn ICD-10-PCS...
We should all be in the middle of our plans to transition from ICD-9-CM to ICD-10-CM and ICD-10-PCS. From planning and budgeting to training and auditing to process and technology changes, the...
I know there are some of you out there who missed the recent CMS national provider call. For anyone looking to catch up on this recent information session, CMS posted to its ICD-10 webpage a...
You can expect ICD-10 updates to follow the same timeline that you are already accustomed to for ICD-9—almost. An ICD-9-CM Coordination and Maintenance Committee Meeting was held September 15-16,...
When coders are looking at scenarios in ICD-10-CM/PCS, where the X is located within the code matters. When X is in the fifth and/or sixth character, X is a placeholder. ICD-10-CM codes can be up to...
As many may be aware, laterality has been added in ICD-10-CM to increase specificity. Codes assigned for conditions such as fractures, burns, and pressure ulcers will indicate right side versus left...
On November 23, 2010, the North Carolina Healthcare Information & Communications Alliance (NCHICA) and the Workgroup for Electronic Data Interchange (WEDI) published what they call an "...
Can’t wait to learn more about ICD-10? Want to get some basic training and experience in using ICD-10? Not enough money in the budget to go get training? Take a look at the World Health Organization’...
CMS will host a national provider teleconference January 12 at 1 p.m. that will focus on ICD-10 implementation in 2011. CMS representatives will discuss implementation strategies for this year...
As the New Year starts, where are you at in terms of your ICD-10 implementation plans? This might be a good time to sit down and identify any gaps in your preparation to ensure a smooth transition to...
Expert predictions for industry costs for the upcoming move to ICD-10-CM/PCS vary from $6 billion to $14 billion (Robert E. Nolan Company), to $1.15 billion (RAND Corporation). Regardless of where...
CMS has released the 2011 versions of the ICD-10-CM/PCS crosswalks, also known as the General Equivalence Mappings (GEM) on its ICD-10 website . In addition, CMS also posted a document titled “ICD-10...
It may come as a surprise, but CMS has an excellent website to help with the transitions to 5010 and ICD-10. This site is actually easy to use and fairly comprehensive compared to some of their...
ICD-10. The biggest change to happen in health information management in more than 20 years is on your doorstep. You’ll need a step-by-step plan to educate and train staff across multiple departments...
At the annual American Health Information Management Association's (AHIMA) convention in September, AHIMA practice resources managers Kathy DeVault, RHIA, CCS, CCS-P, and Ann Zeisset, RHIT, CCS, CCS-...
One of the challenges in ICD-9 is teaching the difference between coding for adverse effects and poisonings. You have to understand the difference between the two, and you have to also understand the...
The meanings of the seventh character for ICD-10-CM codes vary across chapters and categories. Fracture codes include additional information that can be provided by the extension. When coding for a...
Neoplasms are a form of new, abnormal growth in organs and tissues. The cells do not develop as an organized part of the site where they form, and they may spread to other parts of the body in a...
The billing department will see plenty of payer ¬policy changes as a result of ICD-10-CM. Billers must know how the new policies affect what can be billed and how they must submit the bills under the...
I have heard and read many discussions that coders will need to get in-depth education on anatomy and physiology (A&P) and pathophysiology before we flip the switch to ICD-10. The more I thought...
What does "x" represent in ICD-10? What seemed like a fairly straightforward question and answer in a recent HCPro ICD-10 Basics Boot Camp™ class I was teaching actually evolved into more of a tricky...
The Commission on Certification for Health Informatics and Information Management (CCHIIM) recently announced ICD-10 recertification requirements for individuals certified by the American Health...
While attending an American Health Information Management Association ICD-10 course, I was surprised to learn that there is a huge change to the coding guidelines regarding neoplasms. Currently in...
Coders and other HIM professionals generally focus on the ways ICD-10-CM is different from ICD-9-CM—the number of codes, the length of the codes, the look of the codes, the level of specificity, and...
Over the past few weeks through e-mail, at conferences, and during class many people have asked myself and my colleagues what makes the HCPro ICD-10 Basics Boot Camp ™ different from the other...
So, once we start using ICD-10 codes, will you still be able to use a super bill? A super bill is a cheat sheet that many facilities and practices develop, on which they list their top diagnostic...
ICD-10 will change more than just the code sets and will impact more than just your coders. The clinical area will face many changes because so many health plan policies are going to change, says...
In ICD-10-PCS, every procedure falls into one of 31 root operations, which define the objective of the procedure. Although some root operations seem self-explanatory (e.g., transplantation or...
Rule 12 of the 2010 ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines for Coding and Reporting reads: Reporting same diagnosis code more than once Each unique ICD-10-CM diagnosis code may be reported only once for an...
CMS will hold a Special Forum to receive input on the development and implementation of its hospital value-based purchasing program, as required by Section 3001 of the Affordable Care Act. The...
By now everyone knows that coders will need more documentation and specificity to assign the correct ICD-10 codes. And everyone knows that increased documentation has to come from the providers—the...
Looking forward to it? Did I really just say that? Yep – I sure did! In July, I attended a preview of HCPro’s ICD-10 Basics Boot Camp ™. I was actually a little surprised that the ICD-10-CM codes,...
CMS posted this week the following ICD-10-PCS files for 2011 to its website: Official ICD-10-PCS Coding Guidelines 2011 Version: What's New Code Tables and Index Code Descriptions ICD-10-PCS...
I often wondered how the ICD-9-CM code set would translate to ICD-10-CM/PCS in regards to MS-DRGs. I couldn’t fathom that along with the costly transition to a new code set, CMS would “double whammy...
The Glasgow Coma Scale provides an objective way of recording the conscious state of a person, for initial as well as continuing assessment. A patient is assessed against the criteria of the scale,...
Sometimes we get really excited about code changes, especially when they have such a huge impact on documentation issues. One such exciting change is in the ICD-10 coding guidelines for Chapter 6:...
If you have taken a peek at a draft ICD-10-PCS Manual , you probably realize that you need to be come familiar with a number of root procedures, some of which you may not even be familiar with. But...
One of the biggest changes in ICD-10-CM is the volume of codes that specify laterality. Providers will need to document which side, right or left, that the injury or diagnosis has occurred for...
I taught the first “official” two-day HCPro ICD-10 Basics Boot Camp™ a couple weeks ago. I was pleasantly surprised that all 50 participants felt the new coding system was easily learned. If I can...
During the ICD-9-CM Coordination & Maintenance Committee Meeting on Sept. 15, CMS representative Pat Brooks, RHIA, announced that the committee had finalized the decision to implement a partial...
