ICD-10 Code Sets Must be in Use Oct 1, 2014
On October 1, 2014, the ICD-9 code sets used to report medical diagnoses and inpatient procedures will be replaced by ICD-10 code sets. The transition to ICD-10 is required for everyone covered by the Health Insurance Portability Accountability Act (HIPAA). The change to ICD-10 does not affect CPT coding for outpatient procedures and physician services. Keep up to date and be prepared.
Updated End-to-End Testing Checklists
CMS and contractor National Government Services (NGS) have updated end-to-end testing checklists to incorporate comments from providers, payers, and vendors. The checklists were developed and refined as part of an end-to-end testing project that uses ICD-10 code sets as a business case. The project goal is to develop an industry-wide “best practice” for end-to-end testing that lays the groundwork for a more efficient and faster method for health care provider testing of future standards. More efficient testing will enable providers to adopt future standards more rapidly. The updated checklists are available on the CMS Administrative Simplification end-to-end testing page.
HIMSS ICD-10 Forum
The industry’s leading source for news and leadership in healthcare information technology, HIMSS Media, presents the most important ICD-10 event of the year – the ICD-10 Forum June 17-18. Connect with leading organizations – HIMSS, WEDI, CMS, NGS and members of the ICD-10 National Pilot Program – at this two-day event and gain valuable insights into the ICD-10 conversion process.
ICD-10-PCS Code Updates
The 2014 ICD-10-PCS (procedure) files are now available and posted on the CMS website. ICD-10-PCS will be used for coding inpatient procedures when the U.S. transitions to the ICD-10 code sets on October 1, 2014. ICD-10-PCS will replace ICD-9-CM, Volume 3. CPT codes will continue to be used for outpatient procedures and services.
The new ICD-10-PCS files include:
- Updated “Official ICD-10-PCS Coding Guidelines” with guidance from the ICD Cooperating Parties: CMS, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the American Hospital Association, and the American Health Information Management Association
- The 2014 ICD-10-PCS code tables and index, which add four procedure codes created to capture new technologies
The Tate & Hartley Show – June 6, 2013
Jim Tate and Carolyn Hartley are EHR experts with their weekly radio show on www.HealthcareNOWradio.com, The Tate & Hartley Show. Hear Jim and Carolyn interview Kay Gooding, Director of the Pitt Community College Region D Health Information Technology (HIT) Consortium discuss the transition to ICD-10 code sets. Download the podcast.
The Role of Clearinghouses in the ICD-10 Transition
CMS has communicated on practices preparing for the ICD-10 transisition and looking for resources. It is important to know that while clearinghouses can help, they cannot provide the same level of support for the ICD-10 transition as they did for the Version 5010 upgrade. ICD-10 describes a medical diagnosis or hospital inpatient procedure and must be selected by the provider or a resource designated by the provider as their coder, and is based on clinical documentation.
Clearinghouses cannot help you identify which ICD-10 codes to use unless they offer coding services. Because ICD-10 codes are more specific, and one ICD-9 code may have several corresponding ICD-10 codes, selecting the appropriate ICD-10 code requires medical knowledge and familiarity with the specific clinical event.