Coding and testing claims is not enough to successfully transition to ICD-10, even if your results have been positive.
You need a broadly educated and narrowly trained workforce to use the right codes and to process coded information properly.
Building awareness of how the transition to ICD-10 will influence the quality of care you provide and the reimbursements you will receive is crucial in securing support among the physicians and non-clinicians upon whom coders will rely for accurate documentation. You must also train each employee to document, read or process coded records in terms of their specific responsibilities so that they can attain the knowledge they need without sifting it from extraneous information.
Providing general education for non-coders and non-clinicians and supplementing it with the training of position-specific skills will help you fulfill the dual promises of better patient care and reimbursements that ICD-10 offers. Follow these four steps to developing ICD-10 training and education initiatives that position physicians and non-clinicians—and your organization—for success.
1) Address the ICD-10 Changes
2) Asses Your Needs
3) Allocate ICD-10 Resources
4) Focus Training
About the Author
Kathleen Eagan
Kathleen Eagan has extensive experience in management consulting concentrating in the areas of ICD-10 readiness, revenue cycle optimization, mergers and acquisitions and performance management. Her experience includes consulting for a global consulting firm as well as hospital operations experience in large metropolitan areas as well as rural hospitals and clinics.
She has led several engagements resulting in significant performance improvement, development of best practices, and improved management controls. She is currently the ICD-10 Program Director for a large health system in the Pacific Northwest. She hold a Masters' Degree in Organizational Management and is certified in Lean Six Sigma.