Testing, Testing ... Is This ICD-10 Transition On?
A January 16, 2013 blog by Carl Natale from ICD10 Watch condensed the lefts for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) tips on the ICD-10 transition. His blog lists two CMS milestones and summarizes CMS guidelines on what to test and how to implement ICD-10. His blog follows:
April 1, 2013
Start testing ICD-10 codes and systems with your coding, billing, and clinical staff. CMS suggests:
• "Use ICD-10 codes for diagnoses your practice sees most often"
• "Test data and reports for accuracy"
In addition to testing the data and how the systems work, you need to test how ICD-10 will affect reimbursements. In a nutshell, will the transition from ICD-9 codes to ICD-10 codes be revenue neutral?
This was the milestone formerly know as the drop-dead deadline written in stone for ICD-10 implementation. Now it's just a suggested starting point for testing with trading partners. Develop a testing plan that:
• Identifies the high-risk trading partners
o Healthcare payers
o Clearinghouses
o Billing services
• Establishes guidelines for what gets tested
• Creates ongoing communication with trading partners
• Collaborates with trading partners to create testing scenarios
• Creates a process that resolves issues before and after the deadline.
Until the Oct. 1, 2014, deadline, continue testing and adjusting your ICD-10 transition.
Just the high-risk ICD-9 codes. Those are the ICD-9 codes that can be replaced by many ICD-10 codes. Convert those medical codes and use them in test claims. Create multiple medical claims for each ICD-10 code. Change variables in each test file.
CMS also lays out some steps for getting there:
• "Review ICD-10 resources from CMS, trade associations, payers, and vendors"
• "Inform your staff/colleagues of upcoming changes"
• "Create an ICD-10 project management team"
• "Identify how ICD-10 will affect your practice"
• "Develop and complete an ICD-10 project plan for your organization"
o "Identify each task, including deadline and who is responsible"
o "Develop plan for communicating with staff and business partners about ICD-10"
• "Estimate and secure budget (potential costs include updates to practice management systems, new coding guides and superbills, staff training)"
• "Ask your payers and vendors—software/systems, clearinghouses, billing services—about ICD-10 readiness; review contracts/proposals"
o "Ask about systems changes, a timeline, costs, and testing plans"
o "Ask when they will start testing, how long they will need, and how you and other clients will be involved"
o "Select/retain vendor(s)"
• "Review changes in clinical documentation requirements and educate staff by reviewing frequently used ICD-9 codes and new ICD-10 codes"
There's a more detailed - you can say more granular – ICD-10 transition timeline available.