WASHINGTON – Transitioning as smoothly as possible to the ICD-10 will require a little advanced planning.
Dr. Lee Hilborne, medical director of care coordination at the University of California, Los Angeles, said “the medical community has been very resistant and was fighting approval [of the ICD-10], but at this point they need to [set about] finding a solution” to anticipated problems, he said at a meeting sponsored by the American Health Information Management Association.
Physicians have challenged the adoption of the ICD-10 codes because of concerns about:
▸ Having to hire more certified coders, or recertify current coders.
▸ Needing new computer technology and new billing and collection systems.
▸ Having limited resources for staff training.
▸ Expecting lower reimbursement at first because coding accuracy and productivity will drop in the short term.
Some physicians subscribe to the theory that the new codes are simply “another strategy to pay physicians less,” Dr. Hilborne said.
The American Medical Association must be a key player in the transition because of its prominent role in the coding process, Dr. Hilborne continued. “The specialty societies will help with specifics,” such as codes that are peculiar to their individual specialties.
The American Psychiatric Association has said that when a new version of the ICD is implemented in the United States, the DSM version in use at that time will be modified to include the new ICD codes.
The deadline for implementing both the new ICD code and the DSM-5 is 2013.
The medical community has been resisting the approval of the ICD-10; now it needs to work to find a solution.
Source DR. HILBORNE