5 Tips To Avoiding ICD-10 Disaster

By Ken Congdon, Editor In Chief, ken.congdon@jamesonpublishing.com
Follow Me On Twitter @KenOnHIT

With little more than 20 months remaining until the compliance deadline, ICD-10 is top of mind with most healthcare providers in the U.S. In fact, ICD-10 compliance ranked as the third most important health IT initiative for 2013 (behind EHR Adoption & Meaningful Use and PHI Security) by readers surveyed for our Top 10 Health IT Trends issue. As ICD-10 transition plans intensify, providers are becoming keenly aware of their own ICD-10 readiness, or lack thereof. The following are five tips to ensure your organization doesn’t fall victim to common ICD-10 pitfalls.

1. Assess system readiness/impact — In a recent KLAS report titled ICD-10 Perception 2012: Can Technology Relieve Readiness Issues?, the research firm rated popular EHR vendors based on how ready each platform was to accommodate the new demands introduced by ICD-10. Cerner, Epic, and Siemens ranked highest in terms of ICD-10 readiness, while Allscripts and MEDITECH ranked lowest.
   
   Determining how compatible your existing EHR system will be with ICD-10 is a starting point to understanding the HIS infrastructure tweaks and/or enhancements that may be necessary. Also, make sure your assessment isn’t limited to HIS. Fletcher Lance, the national healthcare leader at North Highland, a consulting firm with experience driving ICD-10 initiatives, says his firm recently identified 30 client subsystems that would be impacted by ICD-10. These subsystems included everything from cancer registry to patient eligibility software.
    

2. Get third-party support —Orchestrating an ICD-10 transition can be a difficult task, particularly when the entire project must be completed within a two-year time window. With this in mind, it may be in your best interest to secure support from third-party ICD-10 experts/consultants. According to the KLAS report, 84% of providers surveyed had (at the very least) engaged a third-party consultant for ICD-10 roadmap/gap analysis.
    
3. Invest in the appropriate ICD-10 transition technologies — Depending upon the capabilities of your EHR and HIM systems, you may need to invest in some additional technology tools to assist in your transition to ICD-10. For example, according to the KLAS report, 75% of healthcare providers have either purchased or plan on purchasing CAC (Computer-Assisted Coding) tools to help with ICD-10. Another 38% have also purchased on plan on purchasing CDI (Clinical Documentation Improvement) tools.
   
   In his recent commentary on the ICD-10 trend in 2013, health IT consultant Steve Sisko provides clarification around the importance of CAC and CDI. Sisko explains how many CAC tools automate complex coding tasks by validating input against regulatory and payer reimbursement policies — doing away with much of the expensive work traditionally performed by coders. Sisko also says that the specificity of ICD-10 increases the importance of strong documentation on both the inpatient and outpatient side, making a CDI program essential. Sisko says providers can achieve the most benefit by focusing on documentation surrounding medical necessity and local coverage determinations associated with their specific focus and medical specialty.
    

4. Secure the appropriate ICD-10 resources — There is going to be a definite rush for trained health IT and coding resources as we approach the ICD-10 compliance deadline. Don’t wait too long to secure the resources you will need to make your ICD-10 transition a success. If you do, you may be forced to do without. One way to amass the desired resources would be by establishing partnerships with organizations such as AHIMA (American Health Information Management Association).   
    
5. Implement ICD-10 education and training —Given that ICD-10 has five times as many codes as ICD-9, clinicians and administrators will likely struggle during the transition. It’s important to provide them with adequate education and training on the new code set. This training and education should be customized to the specific needs and specialty of your healthcare facility.