The Great ICD-10 Debate: Healthcare Coding Transforms
April 27, 2012 08:30 AM Healthcare's move to ICD-10, an updated set of diagnosis and inpatient procedure codes, will affect everything from billing systems to medical records. After several delays, debate still rages on how to time the transition.
How Difficult Is Shifting To ICD-10?
CMS has said that while ICD-10 expands the number of codes, a large portion of ICD-10 codes only differ in one parameter. For example, nearly 25% of ICD-10 codes are the same except for indicating the right side of the patient's body versus the left. Another 25% of the codes differ only in the way they distinguish among "initial encounter," versus "subsequent encounter," versus "sequelae."
Still, increased code detail contained in ICD-10 means that required clinical documentation by providers "will change substantially," according to CMS. ICD-10 includes a more robust definition of severity, comorbidities, complications, sequelae, manifestations, causes, and a variety of other important parameters that characterize the patient's condition, CMS said.
The move to ICD-10 doesn't impact just technology, but also an organization's business processes, people, and partners. The chart above (click here for a larger image), provided by IT services firm Cognizant Technology which performs ICD-10 remediation work, illustrates how the transition from ICD-9 to ICD-10 impacts payers and providers.
Image credit: Image courtesy of Cognizant Technology.
Recommended Reading:
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AMA Wants To Put Brakes On ICD-10 Implementation
Stay On Course With ICD10 Plans, AHIMA Urges
ICD-10 Boosts Appeal Of Computer-Assisted Coding Tools
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Feds May Delay ICD-10 Deadline
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