{"id":722,"date":"2012-01-27T06:47:17","date_gmt":"2012-01-27T06:47:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.medicalbillersandcodersblog.com\/?p=722"},"modified":"2026-05-11T14:16:55","modified_gmt":"2026-05-11T14:16:55","slug":"billers-and-coders-to-gear-up-for-1cd-10-despite-physician-community-pushing-the-deadline","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\/blog\/billers-and-coders-to-gear-up-for-1cd-10-despite-physician-community-pushing-the-deadline\/","title":{"rendered":"Billers and Coders to Gear up for ICD- 10 \u2013 Despite Physician Community Pushing the Deadline"},"content":{"rendered":"

ICD-10\u2019s implementation on October 1, 2013, according to AAPC – will alter everything from the way health care providers document services to the way codes are selected, reported, and reimbursed, however it will be coders who will play a vital role to achieving success in ICD-10 implementation.<\/p>\n

AAPC\u2019s vice president of ICD-10 education stated that with the expected advantages of electronic health records (EHRs) aside, all eyes will turn to coders to make sense of ICD-10-CM<\/strong> and ICD-10-PCS<\/strong>, he further cautioned even the best coders in the industry need to increase their understanding of anatomy and pathophysiology (A&P). Further elaborating that specificity of ICD-10 codes<\/strong> is based on a precise identification of body sites and function; hence increasing coders\u2019 knowledge of A&P would be necessary.<\/p>\n

Reasoning with the Physician community: Medical Billing Services<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

With the pressure elevating in the physician community the American Medical Association (AMA) adopted a policy of resisting the implementation of the ICD-10 during its semi-annual policy making session. Implementation of ICD-10 would increase physician burden immensely as practitioners are already clambering to implement electronic heath records, facing high reimbursement cuts while trying their best not to lose focus on their patients. In this scenario it is imperative for physicians to acquire services of proficient billers and coders for revenue maximization.<\/p>\n

Challenges for Medical Billing – ICD-10 Transition <\/strong><\/p>\n

Adoption of ICD-10 will lead to expansion in the number of codes available for both describing diagnoses and procedures from the currently used ICD-9 codes.<\/p>\n

Coders to prepare for the transition need to:<\/p>\n