Guest Post by: Joan L. Usher, BS, RHIA, COS-C, ACE
Medicare Certified Home Health Agencies need to implement their ICD-10 preparedness plans now. This is the single largest change the health care system has seen since the inception of Medicare. Changing to ICD-10 is not a simple coding change: it impacts every department in the organization. Follow these 5 steps to develop your agency’s ICD-10 preparedness plan.
Organize
Establish a Steering Committee with key players from major departments. The ease and success of the transition relies heavily on strong leadership support.
Assess
Assess the impact on all departments. This step is crucial in determining which items need to be completed pre-ICD-10, including testing of claim submissions with ICD-10 codes, redesign of EHR screen, or paper documents to capture documentation needed. Consider vendor and payer readiness. Determine how to operate dual systems, and for how long. Assess coder’s knowledge of the current coding model. Assess whether the coding model will work under the increased specificity of ICD-10. Continue reading “Guest Post: ICD-10 Preparedness – Where Are You in the Process?”
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