By now, almost the end of the first quarter 2015, the preparation, allocation of dollars, gap analysis, system scrutiny and training of coders should be completed and you should be well into ICD-10 training of providers. You should have developed a contingency plan if things don’t go as planned on go live date and a well thought out communication plan should have been developed.

You should have already determined the most appropriate and cost-effective method for providing ICD-10 education to providers (face to face, classroom, audio conferences, self-directed programs, web based instruction or a combination). Your audits of documentation should have determined which providers in what specialties may need more focused training.

You should have determined how long you will maintain a dual system of ICD-9 and -10 and where legacy will be stored and who will have access. You should have also considered creating a new ICD-10 AR beginning with charges of date of service 10-15-2015 and running down the ICD-9 AR. While complex, tracking of ICD-10 issues will be much easier and isolating the specific issue more manageable.

You should have a testing schedule worked out with vendors, carriers, and government agencies to ensure both claim submission and claim adjudication handled appropriately. A crosswalk of codes and contract payments should also have been performed with payers.

You should have identified potential problem or challenges and implemented strategies to mitigate these challenges. You should know what kind of coding delay there may be at implementation and how long that may last. A strategy to focus on getting correctly coded charges into the system should have been developed.

Because any disruption to cash flow will negatively impact any practice, getting this right should be your practices  #1 focus until October 15^th and the foreseeable future.

If your head is now spinning, give us a call. We can help you get it right!