Help for physicians in planning for the ICD-10 transition

By Carl Natale of ICD-10 Watch , posted at PhysBizTech

Physicians will be a key part of making the ICD-10 transition successful. This post focuses on helping doctors become more comfortable with the new code sets.

HealthStream outlined these steps in the white paper “Preparing a Successful ICD-10 Transition : Helping Physicians Succeed in an ICD-10 World.”

Physicians need to look at the ICD-10 transition as more than an administrative burden because ICD-10 implementation will be part of more than just medical claim reimbursements:

• The ICD-10 data will be used in heathcare reform initiatives.
• More expensive treatments and diagnoses will require more documentation.
• Physicians will be judged on documentation.

Learning ICD-10 coding will be a huge task but physicians won’t need to learn the whole code set. Thus ICD-10 training programs need to emphasize coding strategies not codes:

• Focus on documentation principles that can apply to any disease
  • Site
  • Laterality
  • Timing
  • Manifestations
  • Stage
  • Status
  • Drug, alcohol or tobacco dependency
• Focus on areas that need improvement
• Do not focus on principal diagnosis
  • Learn how to code underlying conditions
• Prepare EHRs
  • Incorporate ICD-10 into templates and prompts
    • Code and code descriptions
    • Documentation requirements

Remember there are many ways to teach people:

• Online lessons and webinars
• Peer led workshops and classes
• Mobile apps and resources
• CDI specialists
• Simulations
• Printed resources
• Video games
• One-on-one coaching

It’s OK to use different learning tools to reach different physicians.

Physician training steps

• Identify physicians and staff members who need training
• Assess physician documentation strengths and weaknesses
• Develop lessons based upon specialties and documentation gaps
• Develop training timeline
  • Estimate time needed
  • Schedule start and finish dates
  • Allow for practice and follow up assessments