You'll be happy to add this code translator to your collection of ICD-10 tools. The American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC) released on October 20 a free ICD-10-CM online code conversion tool...
On October 2, the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) posted three new practice briefs related to ICD-10 on its Web site . Click on "All current practice briefs in...
This is just one of hundreds examples of changes coming with ICD-10. Every family practice regardless of size should identify a person(s) to be the designated ICD-10 expert. To develop appropriate...
Although the U.S. healthcare community is bracing themselves for this massive switch to ICD-10 in 2013, many other countries have already been through it. For example, providers in Canada...
Looking back a year later, I now feel relatively confident in my background knowledge of ICD-10. And I did not spend any money. Read more in Part 1 and Part 2 of this blog post about my cost-...
I was poking around the CMS Web site today, in the ICD-10 section of course, and I noticed a brand new page devoted to the ICD-10 MS-DRG Conversion Project . While I've heard different CMS...
The thought of sitting down and creating an ICD-10 transition timeline from scratch can be daunting. If you want some inspiration, check out these two timelines that are posted on the North Carolina...
On September 16, 3M Health Information Systems announced that it had released the 3M™ ICD-10 Code Translation Tool, a new software application that helps convert ICD-9 based applications to ICD-10...
As each day passes, we get closer to the implementation date of ICD-10-CM and ICD-10-PCS. I have been scouring the ICD-10 manual to identify things that will change (some things for the better, some...
I have always thought that ICD-9 procedure codes were very non-specific and that it is no wonder that inpatient coders don’t like CPT coding. However after looking at what is going to happen with ICD...
Excludes notes in ICD-10 will have a slightly different look. Currently in ICD-9, there are simply excludes notes listed below codes in italic font. In ICD-10, there are two types of exclude notes:...
In my last blog post , I explained how I tackled the challenge of educating myself about ICD-10, realizing the significant cost that would be associated with registering for every ICD-10 Webinar,...
CMS will host its third national Medicare fee-for-service (FFS) education call on HIPAA Version 5010 on September 9, from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Providers will need to transition to this new transaction...
Are you an educator who needs to learn ICD-10 as soon as possible so that you can be prepared to teach your students, coding staff members, or other clients and entities that you serve? Are you...
Even though it's still early to start studying and learning ICD-10 codes, at this point you should at least take a look at codes you commonly assign to get a sense of the changes and to see whether...
What is your organization doing to plan for the transition to ICD-10? Have you formed an ICD-10 implementation committee? Have coding staff members attended any recent educational sessions, such as...
It is widely known that ICD-10 is going to be much more specific than ICD-9. While that is true, there are some ICD-9 codes that will not be as specific in ICD-10. Here are two examples: ICD-9 codes...
In a recent JustCoding.com mini-poll, we asked subscribers the following question: Has your organization established a timeline for the transition to ICD-10? This is the breakdown of the 151...
As I heaved my ICD-9 Manual , projector, and laptop into the overhead bin on my flight home from Atlanta this past Friday after teaching an inpatient coding boot camp, a thought occurred to me: What...
How much ICD-10 training are you ready for today? The American Health Information Management Association states: It would be impractical and a waste of resources and time to start training coders now...
In a previous blog , I discussed how CMS was considering freezing updates to the ICD-9-CM and ICD-10 coding systems prior to the October 1, 2013 implementation. Many in the industry have said that...
Although the health care community is primarily focusing on the implementation to ICD-10 in 2013, a critical step before the new coding system takes effect is the switch to transaction standard...
CMS recently posted on its Web site a presentation titled "Introduction to ICD-10-CM/PCS: For Physician Specialty Group Representatives." In addition to CMS representative Pat Brooks, a number of...
CMS recently posted a very good document titled ICD-10-CM/PCS Myths & Facts , which clarified many myths regarding ICD-10 and specified facts upon which you should base your plan for...
CMS has created a tool that can help ease the process for mapping out equivalent codes between ICD-9 and ICD-10. On May 19, CMS hosted an ICD-10-CM/PCS implementation and General Equivalence Mappings...
ICD-10 will bring a lot of welcome changes and correct many of the issues and shortcomings with ICD-9. One particular source of confusion with ICD-9 relates to the excludes notes. In ICD-9, the...
You might be far enough along in your ICD-10 implementation timeline to attend some informational sessions that go beyond the basics. "You're going to see more companies advertising functional...
One of the many things that will be affected in order to accommodate the ICD-10 codes is the format of electronic claims. CMS recently announced that it receives more than 99% of the Medicare Part A...
On May 19, CMS hosted a conference call during which it addressed the use of General Equivalence Mappings (GEMs). A transcript of the call is now available on the CMS Web site . CMS representative...
Since the Department of Health and Human Services' January announcement on the final rule for the implementation of ICD-10, many questions have popped up. Some in the industry feel that if they do...
Since we have talked and read globally about ICD-10, I thought we should turn the pages a little deeper and look at some commonly used codes and see what they will look like October 1, 2013, when the...
One of the most poorly documented and miscoded diagnosis is when a physician documents the term "urosepsis." Does the physician mean that the patient has a systemic infection originating from a...
With all the complexities related to the implementation of ICD-10, it's no wonder that so many in the healthcare industry have a number of questions related to the various aspects of this new coding...
Discussions are starting regarding ICD-10, and there are many rumblings in the coding community. Just like anything else, something new and different can bring on feelings of being overwhelmed. Yes,...
You will need to make significant changes to your superbill due to the fact that ICD-10-CM contains a considerably larger number of codes than ICD-9-CM. At the American Academy of Professional Coders...
At the American Academy of Professional Coders national conference in Las Vegas, the ICD-10 sessions were buzzing as the HIM/coding community sounded out about the impact ICD-10 will have on...
Currenty, the American Health Information Management Association's (AHIMA) Council on Certification (COC) has made the following recommendations regarding how credentialed members (and certified...
At the American Academy of Professional Coders conference in Las Vegas, a wave of ICD-10 info (and emotion) washed over the conference attendees. Reed Pew, the AAPC CEO and president, made one...
Ready for another little ICD-10 nugget? Coders will have to learn a number of different coding conventions for ICD-10. For example, for injury code assignment, coders will need to specify whether a...
Can you code ICD-10 from the documentation your physicians currently provide? Look at several records for each of your physicians and ask yourself whether you could assign codes in ICD-10 based on...
It may sound like such a small detail, but when your information technology (IT) team is looking to revamp and redesign your system, it's vital that you specifically request that the new system uses...
We know it will take a huge time commitment. We know it will require an inordinate amount of organization and coordination across departments. We know the training for coders and physicians and...
Have you ever had a To-Do list that’s a mile long, and you just don’t know where to start? This implementation timeline is going to feel less like a mile and more like a Marathon. I thought it might...
As if you don’t have enough to worry about between staying on top of CMS guidelines and different reporting rules for various payers, now you face the challenge of learning and assigning ICD-10 codes...
Coders’ clinical knowledge is going to be more critical than ever before. Your ability to glean information from physician documentation and translate these notes into meaningful codes in ICD-10 is...
Have you ever had to plan for a difficult conversation with a friend or loved one? You feel stressed out about having to bring up a painful topic, and you think of every way to broach the subject...
We’ve read the words of caution and heard the urgency of the message: Don’t put off planning for ICD-10. And while there is no one-size-fits-all plan for implementation, there is one tip that...
Over the last couple months, I have tried to get a sense of how far along people are in the ICD-10 planning process. The verdict? While it's definitely on the radar, it seems as though most have not...
Even before you implement ICD-10 in 2013, you will need to make sure that the 5010 electronic code sets are in place at your facility. You must implement the 5010 code set by January 1, 2012. As an...
