Start your office Library for ICD-10-CM

As you begin to implement changes for ICD-10-CM, you will soon have loads of resource material that will be beneficial for your office needs. You must maintain a reference area in your practice. Label binders and folders for every issue addressed, all information obtained through reports, documentation anything and everything. Make this library a reference point of knowledge, customized just for your practice. Having a reference library will be a time saver as well as being your customized resource station specifically deigned by your practice for your practice. Plan to Succeed!

ICD-10-CM Impact on your practice revenue stream:

How to handle the revenue stream before it handles you !

In previous post we have discussed the importance of running billing reports of commonly used codes. This aspect of handling your revenue stream will be vitally important after Implementation.  

1. Identify revenue received from ICD-9 codes
2. List each code separately and reimbursement amount
3. After Implementation begins create spreadsheet for cross walked codes, identify reimbursement amounts as well as any changes you can identify. Track this information for at least 60-90 days after Implementation 

These 3 steps will be vital in tracking expected reimbursement as well as giving clear indications of revenue gain or loss....

Sneak Peek into ICD-10-CM

A Sneak Peek into ICD-10-CM is just a glance into our future. All the new and exciting changes we have to look forward to in 2014. The design of ICD-10-CM was to offer significant advantages over ICD-9-CM. The changes themselves should result in significant improvements in both the quality and the usefulness of data for various healthcare settings.

Cyst category under Bursa will be expanded out to identify not only location but laterality as well, this will be very common in Ortho with ICD 10. Physicians will have to be more specific in identifying location and laterality in order to code properly. Bursa will go from just one code 727.49 to M71.30 , showing up in ankle, elbow, foot, hand, hip, multiple sites, pharyngeal, popliteal space, shoulder, specified site and wrist, also including extenders to show laterality.

The use of these codes in ICD-10-CM has not been approved for use,but we at The Virtual Coder, have put together a quick glance into someof the changes that will impact all of us in the year to come, but what this information will also do is help to familiarize yourself with the differences so you too will be prepared for what is to come!

                                      Magic of Tackling  ICD-10-CM

There have been so many changes from ICD-9-CM to ICD-10-CM. The thought or idea of trying to learn all of them is crazy!  The most efficient way to learn all of this overwhelming information is to only focus on what you need to know right now. How do I make that happen you may ask? Well if you are an office manager, coder, biller and have a way to access the reports that have the codes your office is now using, you have tapped into the magic of tackling ICD-10-CM.  Create a crosswalk from ICD-9-CM to ICD-10-CM.  I know some of you are saying our system already does that!...Great but does you system indicate how the code has changed, I'm going to answer that for you ....NO!  Customize your codes to fit your practices needs yourself, and you have found the magic!