When you file claims to private insurance providers and Medicaid, you use ICD-9 codes to report. With all of the advances and updates made with medical data sine the last updates to ICD-9 in 2012, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has decided that it is time to upgrade to new ICD-10 codes. Since it has show that the transition may take some time, you still have 12 months to switch, with October 1, 2015 as the deadline. While it may seem like a long road ahead to adjust to the new system, there is a light at the end of the tunnel: many Meaningful Use Certified EHR Software comes equipped with the new ICD-10 codes built in to help make your transition easier.
How ICD-10 Will Benefit You and Your EHR Software
Improve Patient Care Across Providers
ICD-10 reporting has more details and provides more information with every code, to provide a more comprehensive patient history to share across healthcare providers. This means that patients will receive consistent, superior healthcare, regardless of which medical discipline they are visiting.
Greater Accuracy
The details that are reported when using ICD-10 have much more information behind them than in ICD-9. This means that, when you use codes to report about a patient, you can get as detailed as necessary and prevent miscommunication. The more information you provide, the easier the codes can be processed by insurance providers.
Better Tracking
With the increased detailing of ICD-10, public health officials and researchers can better track the prominence and outcomes of diseases. It can help to better diagnose patients, and identify similar characteristics that might be between the patients suffering from the illness. It can also help to track stages of long-term diseases. This means the production and testing of more effective medication over time.
Rigorous Testing
ICD-10 has undergone intense levels of testing and review to ensure that it is ready to be released and set into motion by healthcare professions everywhere. The next twelve months are a grace period for everyone to undergo the necessary system upgrades to a Meaningful Use Certified, ICD-10 ready EHR software.
If you want more specific information on your transition to ICD-10, we suggest taking a lookt at the CMS website. They have tons of resources to help answer all of your questions!
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