The earlier you familiarize yourself with ICD-10-CM, the easier the transition will be – so you may want to start now.
To recap, the ICD-9 code sets, which were used to report medical diagnoses and inpatient procedures, will be replaced by ICD-10 code sets. ICD-10 is more robust and descriptive than ICD-9, which is 30 years old, and has many outdated and obsolete terms.
You may ask why ICD-10 is any different from the annual code changes
that already take place. The answer: ICD-10 codes have a completely
different structure from ICD-9 codes. ICD-9 codes are mostly numeric and
have three to five digits. ICD-10 codes are alphanumeric and contain three
to seven characters. Like ICD-9 codes, however, ICD-10 codes will be
updated every year.
Does the switch to ICD-10 affect you? More than likely. Everyone covered by
HIPAA must transition to ICD-10 – including providers and payers who do
not deal with Medicare claims. it’s important to remember that all activity that happens in a doctor’s office will be covered. This is a big deal that will impact every doctor and those who aren’t prepared will experience significant loss of revenue.
The deadline for the transition is October 1, 2014. To help you make the
transition, a widget for setting up a timeline for the switch to ICD-10 can be
found here.
