How To Prepare For ICD-10: Review ICD-9!

A review of how you currently use ICD-9 codes can be helpful in planning to make the transition to ICD-10, which will replace the older code set for all services provided on or after Oct. 1, 2014. “Wherever you see ICD-9 today, you will need to transition to ICD-10,” noted the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) in an update released Nov. 20.

CMS recommended that you ask your clinical and administrative staff to develop a list of all places where they encounter ICD-9 codes in their work. “This exercise will acquaint your practice with how the switch to ICD-10 will affect your daily work,” CMS stated.

After you’ve compiled the master list of where your office uses ICD-9 codes, you can assess how and where you’ll need to make changes to be ready for the ICD-10 transition.

In particular, make sure you have accounted for the use of ICD-9 codes in the following areas:

• ●   authorizations/pre-certifications
• ●   physician orders
• ●   medical records
• ●   superbills/encounter forms
• ●   practice management and billing systems
• ●   coding manuals
• ●   public health reporting

Source: www.physbiztech.com; Frank Irving; November 26, 2012.