Revenue Cycle Management
Healthcare Blog

With ICD-10 being postponed again, you may be left with some very important questions. It's best to start at the beginning by understanding what ICD-10 actually is, how it works, and the best ways to implement this program - with or without delay. Understand how to convert to ICD-10 no matter when the deadline may be, and how this can help your billing and business.

ICD-10 Basics

ICD-10 is a diagnostic coding system used to classify medical diagnosis and procedures around the world - just not in the United States. The US uses ICD-9-CM. The difference between these two coding systems is essentially variety. The new system has 69,000 classifications, while the old system has 13,600 codes. Why so many more codes? Simply put, technology. New technological advances in diagnosis and treatment have left many procedures without an accurate description. Switching to the new coding system means that health information can be both billed and tracked more accurately, and data is easier to share across the World Health Organization networks.

Crazy times in the world of revenue cycle management. Based on everything you see, hear, and read: revenue cycle management teams have their hands full with a ‘to do’ list that runs the gamut on areas of concern – system conversions, new systems, new processes, new laws, new regulations, new financials, change management, and a ton of uncertainty.  How to prioritize the work, how to parse out the work, and how to execute change has a lot of Revenue Cycle Management teams really stressed out.   

Ugh! Remember when October 1, 2014 seemed so far off into the future? The reality is, the ICD-10 official deadline is actually now looming. You can’t afford to screw up – literally – because your bottom line is at stake.

Don’t believe it? ICD-10 is transforming how you do business, whether you’re a sole practitioner or a major hospital. It’s an infection that will certainly spread from your clinical procedures to across-the-board operations and even your organizational structure, all of which affect your financial well-being.

ICD-10 will directly affect your revenue.

Incase you live under a rock and don't know what ICD-10 is, well... it's the abbreviation for the 10^th version of The International Classification of Disease - a universal system of coding (first created in 1983 and completed in 1992) used by physicians and other healthcare providers to classify and code all diseases, diagnoses, symptoms, abnormal findings, procedures, and external causes of injury recorded in conjunction with hospital care in the United States.