The deadline of October 1, 2015 is fast approaching. The massive increase in codes and the demand for increased specificity has made billing a burdensome task for providers. It is vital that all your systems are ICD-10 compatible and your coders well trained to endure the burden of almost 68,000 codes.
MBC has been playing a significant role in preparing it's clients for ICD-10 and helping them in adjusting workflows once ICD-10 hits.
ICD-10 will see a dramatic increase in codes form 14000 to almost 68,000 and the in-patient procedures will move from a 11,000 to 87,000. Given this enormous increase, it is easy to comprehend the amount of efforts required for the conversion. These efforts include the immense amount of money that will have to be spent in order to become ICD-10 compliant. Expense for the conversion would range from a minimum of around $100,000 to a million dollars.
No matter the huge costs incurred, there is no guarantee that ICD-10 will not affect your process or burden your practice with slow reimbursements.
The International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-10-CM) is a revision of the ICD-9-CM. Public health workers can use the ICD codes to watch for trends in health and track morbidity and mortality. ICD codes are used by insurers to classify conditions and determine reimbursement. ICD-10 has more than 68,000 diagnostic codes as compared to the 13,000 found in ICD-9. The new coding system includes double the categories and calls for more specificity in identifying treatment.
Every person and organization that is a part of the US healthcare will be affected by the transition to ICD-10. This herculean change will require immense preparation and effort and anyone who uses medical diagnosis codes and covered by the Health Insurance Portability Accountability Act (HIPAA), will be impacted. Insurance companies like Medicaid and Medicare will be impacted by ICD-10. A considerable rise in the number of codes used for patient diagnosis will call for training for the new codes.
A clearinghouse sorts, formats and organizes claims for payers to process. The coding and administrative staff must be well prepared to adapt to ICD-10. All health IT vendors must upgrade their software. They will need to work in collaboration with their customers and test all updates using new diagnosis codes. ICD-10 is thus going to hit every sphere of healthcare.
Regardless of the benefits of ICD-10, the implementation cost will be huge and so it is important for individual practices to set a budget for the coming months. Early stages of ICD-10 are expected to bring in more denials, the rate increasing by 100 to 200 percent and account receivables are said to grow by 20 to 40 percent.
Transitioning to ICD-10 need not be as difficult as it may seem. MBC has a team of well-trained ICD-10 coders who guarantee a smooth transition with zero loss of revenue and reduced number of denials. Our ICD-10 coders can help you analyze your revenue cycle which can prove useful in reducing the negative impact of ICD-10. Our services extend to getting you ICD-10 compatible and conducting test scenarios for your practice and fixing issues at various levels
MBC's expert ICD-10 coders are significant in strategizing your denial management in order to mitigate revenue losses in your practice and minimize disruption of cash flow.
