The Coding Institute Experts Say - Make Best Use of Extended ICD-10 Training Time

Despite the delay in implementation, experts warn that practices must continue their efforts to prepare for ICD-10 use.

According to a study by Aloft Group in March 2014, nearly half of healthcare providers in the US have completed only 25 percent or less of their ICD-10 implementation plans.  The ICD-10 delay – therefore – is welcome news to many providers.

Providers should view the ‘delay time’ as practice time for detailed documentation – an opportunity to boost new skills. “Of note, we should not throw away the chance to improve the physician’s clinical documentation just because the code set implementation has been delayed,” says Barbara Cobuzzi,  MBA, CPC, CENTC, CPCH, CPC-P, CPC-I, CHCC, president of CRN Healthcare Solutions, a consulting firm in Tinton Falls, N.J.. “It is always a goal to improve clinical documentation,” Cobuzzi adds.

To make the best use of the extended training time, providers should stay focused and take these steps:

·         Maintain the momentum towards ICD-10 readiness

·         Keep tabs on the most frequently-reported ICD-9 codes

·         Devise a top-25 list that will help guide you to the most relevant chapters in the ICD-10 coding manual

·         Focus only on the codes you are most likely to use – All the codes don’t apply to every specialty.

·         Boost your documentation skills – particularly in your focus areas so that by next year, your records will regularly include the kind of detail coders will need.

·         Become familiar with the new coding concepts.

·         Know all of your “points of contact” for ICD-10

·         Ensure practice management/EHR systems can handle the transition.

Providers should also take advantage of various training resources available from AHIMA, CMS, The Coding Institute and other organizations.

Training should be specifically targeted to the conditions physicians handle on a daily basis. The Coding Institute (TCI) offers various ICD-10 training resources through its website, where providers can access ICD-10 charts, newsletter, crosswalks based on general equivalency mappings, and other tools. Last week, the company launched ICD-10 Multispecialty Guide - a Quick-Reference Guide for 23 specialties - to help medical practices in jumpstarting their conversion to ICD-10.