Implementation of ICD-10 will not only affect staff, payers, vendors and physicians but it will also impact revenue cycle for medical practices. Physicians have the most to lose because claim submission with coding errors will result in delayed or no payment. As the new coding system is round the corner, it has become vital for physicians to start the necessary training and planning.
Rigorous training will be required for billers and coders. Providers will have to document in greater detail. Even super-bills and billing software will have to be changed to start billing with ICD-10 codes. Apart from system changes and training, practices will have to be prepared for costs related to ICD-10 conversion that may range anywhere between $83,000 to $2.7 mn.; depending on the practice.
ICD-10 preparation- where to start from?
- Providers will have to take current systems and work processes into consideration that use ICD-9 codes. This will help in focusing on systems that require changes and personnel who require training. Only when the entire team is well-trained in ICD-10, can they help billers and coders do their job better
- A line of credit will have to be secured by practices before ICD-10 transition so that there is sufficient money to stay afloat if any issue with the changeover halts the cash flow on a temporary basis. To make this happen, billing tasks will have to be streamlined so that practices get paid for every service offered. A financial impact analysis should be done to determine whether or not reimbursement received from commercial health plans and government will change due to new levels of specificity
- Although additional technology will not be required for using ICD-10 codes, this transition will offer a good opportunity to implement technology that will be useful in proper code assignment
- Apart from staff training, internal testing will have to be conducted to ensure that transactions with new codes can be generated easily
- External testing should also be conducted with payers and clearinghouses to ensure that transactions can be sent and received with new codes
Due to the transition, practices are facing a staggering number of technology requirements such as e-prescribing, administrative transactions upgrading, health IT adoption and so on. Even though ICD-10 will be a significant change for the healthcare community, lack of time, money and resources are posing problem in balancing between ICD-10 preparation, patient care and other administrative tasks.
If your practice is lagging in preparation, seeking help from a billing partner can bring an end to your woes. Medical Billing companies like Medicalbillersandcoders.com can help you in timely and effective implementation of ICD-10 compliant clinical and operational services.
MBC has the largest consortium of certified billers and coders who can handle processing and re-processing of claims and offer error-free coding and billing services to strengthen revenue cycle management of your practice. The team at MBC has the required expertise for handling ICD-10 coding changes. Our team can also help guide your clinical staff with ICD 10 requirements, reducing your worries for hiring, training, HIPAA compliance, system changes and so on.
