The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is all set to release 5,500 new codes in October in the wake of smooth ICD 10 transition. Though that sounds too many new rules, these codes are meant to help healthcare providers submit claims more efficiently and improve repayment standards. in relation to that, the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) has released a few guidelines to help healthcare units prepare for the ICD 10 updates. The agency also reassured providers that implementing the upcoming updates will not be much complicated as the initial move.
CMS representatives said that they would be releasing codes that are demanded by most providers. It would include healthcare specific devices, combination diagnoses, and more advanced cancer codes. They also highlighted that most of the new codes will be in-patient procedure related, around 97% of that being concerning cardiovascular treatment. Supporting the updates release, AHIMA representatives said that it would “narrow the impact to specific service lines” and make staff training much simpler.
Experts at Health Information Management (HIM) will review the new set of codes and check how it would affect the healthcare quality and repayment structure. “Performing that assessment now will help HIM target its training and education activities to those that will be most impacted in light of one’s organization’s services and case mix,” stated AHIMA’s guide. HIM experts are also looking to assess the accuracy of ICD coding procedures that would affect claims repayment.
The AHIMA guide adds that, “another step to consider is reviewing care manager notes to see how specific diagnoses or procedures are worded in order to identify potential misalignments with the coded records. The goal is to identify gaps and patterns that will enable HIM to focus training on key trouble areas.” The agency also suggests healthcare providers to discuss encoder updates with their EHR vendors before the deadline.
“The arrival of new ICD-10 codes is a reminder that training is not a one-time event,” AHIMA adds. “Continuously evaluating coding procedures and providing education to improve accuracy and efficiency are vital. This means not only training for the new codes, but also reviewing existing ICD-10 codes that may be causing difficulties.”