ICD-10 Back to School: Create a Project Plan


With less than a year to go, you should be getting ready now for the October 1, 2014 transition to ICD-10.  You can help guide your practice through a smooth transition with a project plan that maps out your practice’s ICD-10 prep from start to finish.

Your project plan should identify each task to be completed, when tasks should begin and end, and who should be responsible for each task. At a minimum, your organization should consider the following activities:

  • Ensure senior leadership understands the breadth and significance of the ICD-10 change. Download free ICD-10 fact sheets and background information from the CMS website and share trade publication articles on the transition.
  • Assign overall responsibility and decision-making authority for managing the transition. This can be one person or a committee depending on the size of the organization.
  • Plan a comprehensive and realistic budget. This should include costs such as software upgrades and training needs.
  • Ensure involvement and commitment of all internal and external stakeholders. Contact vendors, physicians, affiliated hospitals, clearinghouses, and others to determine their plans for ICD-10 transition.
  • Take advantage of free webinars and implementation materials.
  • Share best practices with peers.
  • Schedule software/hardware testing.
  • Review internal policies to support the transition.
  • Adhere to a well-defined timeline.

Here are some tasks that should be included in the project plan.

  • Identify commonly used ICD-9 codes and begin to explore related ICD-10 codes.
  • Identify and update paper and electronic forms to accommodate the ICD-10 code structure.
  • Schedule ICD-10 training for clinicians, office managers, billers, coders, and other key staff.

For more information, check out the resources on implementation planning on the Provider Resources page of the CMS ICD-10 website.

WEDI ICD-10 Status Survey

The Workgroup for Electronic Data Interchange (WEDI) is currently hosting their October ICD-10 Status Survey. The survey will assess the ICD-10 readiness of vendors, clearinghouses, health plans, and providers. If you fall into one of these categories, your participation will help CMS and industry update the progress of the ICD-10 transition. The survey closes on Friday, November 1.

Want more information about ICD-10?

Visit the CMS ICD-10 website for the latest news and resources to help you prepare for the October 1, 2014, deadline. Sign up for CMS ICD-10 Industry Email Updates and follow us on Twitter.

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