Abstract
Some practices are still not prepared for the medical coding conversion. Some practices may be well on their way, but others might need some last minute tips now that the time has passed. Focusing on areas such as your budget, training, coding and technology will help you get a quick start on your planning. Practices that have been slow to get started should start planning now so they won’t miss out on any reimbursements come October. These blogs will give you some key areas to focus on even after the deadline.
Tip #5. Take advantage of technology
One of the main advantages of practice management technology is financial. While some vendors are charging for vendor representative visits or training to make your system ICD-10 ready, top performing cloud-based EHR and practice management systems will be updating their clients automatically at no expense. For budget-savvy practices, you might be able to get a lot of preparation done without spending any money: “If you use cloud-based practice management and EHR software and the vendor has promised, as several have, to slipstream in an update that accommodates the seven-digit codes those pieces of the puzzle might be essentially solved for you.”1
The best thing you can do for your ICD-10 prep is to not rely too heavily on low-tech solutions. Working with books, spreadsheets, and Post-It notes will never match the speed, accuracy and efficiency of high performance practice management software. Take advantage of the technology used by EHR and practice management systems that can help automate your clinical documentation to prevent high ICD-10 related denial rates and improve compliance with new requirements. These systems offer diagnosis look-up windows and unified ICD-10 search function that will help you select the level of specificity that ICD-10 requires. They’ll also allow updates to patient notes to help physicians capture clinical information needed for ICD-10 coding.
Some EHR and practice management vendors will even help you track your preparedness for ICD-10 with special websites, blogs and webinars. They have lots of information to help you compare ICD-9 codes with the ICD-10 equivalents, view potential risk assessments, search for ICD-10 codes, add ICD-10 codes to charge slip templates, and view articles and action plans to guide your transition. Using the many resources for ICD-10 readiness that these companies provide is going to make the October 1 transition a lot easier for small private practices.
Conclusion
Waiting until the last minute doesn’t mean you won’t be ready for the October deadline. It just means that you’ll have to be smart, get organized and take advantage of the many resources available that can help you prepare. Whether your preparation style is ant or grasshopper, the transition to ICD-10 promises to improve the accuracy of coding, assist in global health data collection and ensure better, more accurate reimbursement. Those positive outcomes are going to make the hard work of transitioning worth the effort.
The AdvancedMD MyICD-10 Timeline is a one-stop location for ICD-10 training and education. We are continuously posting new resources and helpful progress roadmaps to help you get ready for the conversion to ICD-10. The month-by-month timeline will assist you in your current plan. Learn how AdvancedMD will be a powerful partner in your ICD–10 conversion.
AdvancedMD EHR and AdvancedMD practice management are fully prepared for ICD-10.
Schedule a live demo of AdvancedMD catered to your practice today.
