To help healthcare providers prepare for ICD-10, CMS has released new checklists and timelines for small and medium provider practices, large provider practices, small hospitals and payers. These resources are designed to give a high-level understanding of what the ICD-10 transition requires and how each provider’s ICD-10 preparations compare with recommended time frames.

• Checklists: The checklists offer easy-to-understand lists of tasks that CMS recommends completing before the October 1, 2014 ICD-10 deadline. Each task also includes an estimated time frame to facilitate planning based on current progress. Some organizations may be able perform some of the tasks on a compressed timeline or at the same time as other tasks.
• Timelines: The timelines are an at-a-glance resource for getting a sense of how an organization’s transition is moving forward. The timelines provide a visual guide to key transition activities by phase.

The checklists and timelines will help identify where to focus efforts. Once that general approach is set, there are more in-depth ICD-10 resources available on the CMS website.

Additional tips and resources
The CMS ICD-10 website offers the latest news and resources for those preparing for the October 1, 2014 deadline. For practical transition tips search the site for recent ICD-10 email update messages and the ICD-10 continuing medical education modules developed by CMS in partnership with Medscape.

To make your transition to ICD-10 smooth, consider following these steps:

• Establish a transition plan. Outline the steps your practice intends to follow to comply with ICD-10 requirements. Establish milestones to keep your practice on track. Share your transition plan with your EHR and practice management system vendors and billing services. Talk to them about how you can set up testing before the deadline.

• Communicate with your vendors regularly; encourage them to take action now to avoid reimbursement delays. Talk to your vendors about making sure your software systems will be able to handle ICD-10 transactions. Ask them about their schedule for training your staff on the system changes. Make sure you and your vendors allow ample time for testing ICD-10 systems. NOTE: Axxess is geared up to make certain your transition to ICD-10 goes smoothly. Watch this News and Updates section to find specific information about this transition.

• Identify everywhere that ICD-9 is in use. Any function where ICD-9 is currently used will be affected by the transition to ICD-10. You will see where you need to be prepared to use ICD-10 codes.

• Plan for staff training. Decide who needs training, what type of training they need, and when they need it. Anyone who will test ICD-10 systems before the transition will need training in advance so they can perform meaningful testing. Others who use ICD codes can be trained 6 to 9 months before the October 1, 2014 transition.

• Network with peers. Talking with your peers in other practices can help you to identify best practices and opportunities for sharing resources.

• Set up an emergency fund to cover potential cash-flow disruptions from claims processing. If you think you might have a serious disruption in getting claims processed after the transition, having a cash reserve on hand could be helpful.

• Process ICD-9 transactions before the deadline. Get claims with ICD-9 transactions processed before the deadline to avoid facing a major backlog after the October 1, 2014 ICD-10 transition.

Article posted online on March 4, 2013 by Rowan Consulting Associates, Inc., Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved. This article(minus Axxess’ reference notes) originally appeared in Tim Rowan’s Home Care Technology Report. homecaretechreport.com