A1. ICD stands for International Classificaiton of Diseases.  Developed by World Health Organization, it provides codes to classify diseases and a wide variety of signs, symptoms, abnormal findings, complaints, social circumstances, and external causes of injury or disease. Under this system, every health condition can be assigned to a unique category and given a code.

International Classification of Disease: ICD-10 was endorsed by the Forty-third World Health Assembly in May 1990 and came into use in WHO Member States as from 1994; the classification is the latest in ICD series. ICD 10 is the 10th revision in the ICD series.
Work on ICD-10 began in 1983 and completed in 1992.

Below table give a compreshive picture about the difference.

ICD 10 vs. ICD 9

ICD 9 Procedure Codes

A4. The implementation date is October 1. 2013, using Clinical Modification ICD-10-CM for diagnosis coding and Procedure Coding System ICD-10-PCS for inpatient hospital procedure coding.[4] The implementation of ICD-10 has already been delayed. In January 2009, the date was moved forward by two years, to Oct. 1, 2013 rather than a prior proposal of Oct. 1, 2011.

1. Provides much greater specificity and clinical information
  
2. Improved ability to measure health care services
  
3. Enhanced and precise reimbursement methodologies
        
4. Increased ability to conduct public health monitoring and surveillance
  
5. Reduced documentation requirements while claims processing
6. Better code management allowing comparison of mortality and morbidity data
        
7. Enables seamless payment systems
        
8. Facilitate easier physician’s medical decision making process
        
9. Identify/reduce fraud and abuse
        
10. Better coordinated data for research and development

A6.  There are a number of reasons for US to move to ICD10.   The present revision, ICD-9 is around 30 years old.  With rapid development in the field of medicine and multiple new discoveries in the past three decades, there are no numbers that could be assigned in the present revision for these diagnoses.  Also the better data provided by ICD-10 CM & PCS will lead to improved patient safety, analysis of disease pattern, quality of care and treatment outcomes that can advance medical care as also improve reimbursement methodologies.  Since the rest of the world is already using ICD 10 codes now, switching to ICD-10 will enable us to compile, share, and compare data, disease information and mortality and morbidity data accurately.

Yes.  A Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) final ruling states that all health care entities using ICD-9 diagnosis and procedure codes must migrate to ICD-10 by October 1, 2013.

A8. Preparation for ICD-10 transition depends on whether you are payor, provider, or an IT vendor.
If you are a payor, you have to: a.

1. ICD 10 Coding Certificate Holder Certificate: $ 129 Training: $ 2. ICD 10 Analyst Certificate Holder Certificate: $229 Training:

A10. The time is now to prepare for migration from ICD-9 to ICD–10, as it will not be without challenges, that is the reason information, education and advance planning are critical to success. The process of implementing ICD-10 is not only complex but it will affect every aspect of the medical practice and reimbursement. If you start your planning process now, issues can be identified and resolved early on, making the final transition stress free and successful. Many industry experts are emphasizing on the early preparation. However, there are still a number of industry experts that are advising everybody to go slow on ICD-10 training for everybody except perhaps themselves. If you delay your training, probably you are going to end up not only paying more later but also be vulnerable to transition problems. So the adage “earlier the better” holds good for ICD-10 preparation as well. Huge difference between ICD-9 to ICD-10 codes can be easy understood only if you start your training in advance and in a methodic manner.

Ans. All the people associated with the Healthcare need to undergo education of ICD-10, from Provider and Payer side.

1. Medical Coding And Billing Professional
2. Clinicians
3. Health information management staff
4. Information Technology and Information Systems Personnel
5. Data Analyst
6. Hospice Professionals
7. Quality Management Staff
8. Patient Access And Registration Staff
9. Nurses
10. Physicians
11. Accounting Professionals.
12. Auditors and Consultants
13. Clinical Department Managers
14. Nursing Facility Professionals
15. Allied Health care professionals

With an astute foresight of challenges and impact of ICD-10 transition, ICD-10 Coders Academy was started by a group of enterprising ICD-10 experts to enable companies and individuals to face brought on by ICD-10 implementation and prepare them for smooth and seamless transition from ICD-9 to ICD-10.

ICD-10 Coders Academy has tied up with Medesun Healthcare Solutions for online content and software development. Leveraging on Medesun Healthcare Solutions’ global resources and dedicated team of doctors and software professionals, ICD-10 Coders Academy is able to provide cost-effective training and credential program. To know more about Medesun Healthcare Solutions, please click here.

ICD-10 Coders Academy is a pioneer in the field of ICD-10 training and credentialing. Our board of advisory is one of the best resources in the medical coding and billing industry.

ICD- 10 Coders Academy has tied up with Medesun Healthcare Solutions, a Dun & Bradstreet registered entity for its online content and database management.  With this associated, ICD- 10 Coders Academy is able to leverage on Medesun’s global resources including trained and certified coders, doctors, and software engineers to provide world-class content for its members.

A16. The training is designed by leading industry experts, have an extensive and in-depth knowledge of ICD–10 and have been in the field of Medical coding and billing for more than a decade. The head of the training team is an ICD-10 Certificate Holder from AHIMA.

A17.

These are some of the reasons why you should get trained at ICD- 10 Coders Academy Cost effectiveness, world-class content, flexible timing, industry-accepted cirriculum, these are just a few reasons that you should get trained by ICD- 10 Coders Academy

1. Industry-first certification
2. Access to ICD10madeeasy.com (beta version), industry’s first ICD-10 facilitation tool
3. Regular Updates
4. Networking:
5. Jobs
6. Resources:

Members have to pay yearly membership fees:

Individual Membership: $69/annum

Corporate Membership: $499/annum

A18. No. This training is for all interested people, who want to make a career in this field of healthcare management. Since healthcare is recession proof and is bound to grow leap and bounds in the coming years, many experts suggest that healthcare jobs offer the most stable and best growth opportunities

A22.

A23.

A24. No. This training is not restricted to medical professionals only, people working in any healthcare-related industry like Information Management, Payer side, Quality, Auditors, etc. can take up this training

A22. ICD- 10 Coders Academy has tied up a leading publishing house to provide the books and publishing material on a discounted rate. ICD- 10 Coders Academy is able to get this discount to its members because of economies of scales.

A26. Yes, the present information system in use, cannot support the ICD-10 codes, it needs to be upgraded or changed to version 5010, which support ICD –10. The implementation date for implementation of 5010 code set is January 1, 2012.

A27. Most of the information system being used by the Physicians, Hospitals, Payer and clearinghouse will be affected by the transition to ICD-10. Here is the list of some of the system, which will be affected: Billing systems
Clinical systems
Disease Management system
Payer claims adjudication systems
Performance – measurement systems
Accounting systems
Case-mix systems
Clinical reminder systems
Encoding software
Medical record software
Utilization Management
Aggregate data reporting
Case Management

A28. HIPAA required the secretary of Health & Human Services (HHS) to adopt standards that covered entities are required to use in electronically conducting certain health care administrative transaction such as remittance, eligibility, claims, claim status. The current standard version of transaction is 4010. HHS has mandated that the industry upgrade to version 5010 for transaction because the 4010 version cannot accommodate the ICD–10 code sets. The 5010 code set implementation deadline is January 1, 2012.
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Being certified is not the same as being licensed. Licensing is a government-controlled process that serves as a requirement for functioning in specific professions. Certification, on the other hand, is a voluntary credentialing process, which is managed by members of the profession. Industry based certification is often accepted and encouraged by government agencies because it provides a set of high standards consistently maintained which ultimately benefit the public when developed and managed appropriately.
In a day and age of increasing demand for credentials to document competency, certification provides tangible proof of your dedication to performance and service excellence.

A1. ICD-10 Consultant^® Certificate Holder is a test of combination of analytical skills as well as professional ability to use and understand the ICD-10 in its entirety including migration from ICD-9 to ICD-10 and its implementation in health plans, hospital, and physician office settings. This is the highest level of ICD-10 competency. Most consultants who take the ICD-10 Consultation Certification are planning to lead the migration and implementation projects at various settings and levels. In addition, many payers, healthcare providers, and facilities use ICD-10 Consultant^® Certificate as a proof of knowledge for their projects.

ICD-10 Consultant^® Certificate Holder termed as Version-2011, Version 2012, and Version 2013.

1. Examination papers are e-mailed to you
2. Study guide to be downloaded from www.icd10codersacademy.com
3. Open book examination

1. Ten-day time frame to complete the examination

A6.  Must pass with minimum grade of 80%, to be awarded certification

Two free retakes, should you not pass the first time.

A8. Prices vary in each country, in the USA the test costs $160, in UK it costs $229 while in UAE is costs $229.

Study Guide
ICD-10 Mapper
ICD-10-CM manual
ICD-10-PCS manual

A1. ICD-10 Analyst^® Certificate Holder is a test of combination of analytical and coding skills as well as professional ability to use and understand the ICD-10 in its entirety including migration from ICD-9 to ICD-10 and its implementation in health plans, hospital, and physician office settings. This is the highest level of ICD-10 coding competency. Most Analysts who acquire the ICD-10 Analyst^® Certification are planning to lead the migration and implementation projects at various settings and levels. In addition, many payers, healthcare providers, and facilities use ICD-10 Analyst^® Certificate as a proof of knowledge for their projects.

ICD-10 Consultant^® Certificate Holder termed as Version-2011, Version 2012, and Version 2013.

ICD-10- CM 25
ICD-10-PCS 25
Code Translation 10
HIPAA 10
HIPAA 5010 8
MDC/DRGs 8
ICD-9, CPT, HCPCS, CMS 1500, UB 04 Basics 14
ICD-9, CPT, HCPCS, CMS 1500, UB 04 Basics 14
In the question paper, there will 100 questions all multiple choices. No negative marking.

1. Examination papers are e-mailed to you
2. Study guide to be downloaded from www.icd10codersacademy.com
3. Open book examination

Ten-day time frame to complete the examination

A6.  Must pass with minimum grade of 80%, to be awarded certification

Two free retakes, should you not pass the first time.

A8. Prices vary in each country, in the USA the test costs $160, in UK it costs $229 while in UAE is costs $229.

Study Guide
ICD-10 Mapper
ICD-10-CM manual
ICD-10-PCS manual
All of the above material is free for ICD-10 Coders Academy members.

A1. ICD-10 Coder Certificate Holder is a test of combination of coding and auditing skills using ICD-10 codes as well as using and understanding ICD-10 including migration from ICD-9 to ICD-10 and its implementation in health plans, hospital, and physician office settings. In addition, many payers, healthcare providers, and facilities use ICD-10 Coder Certificate as a proof of knowledge for their coding requirements.

ICD-10 Coder Certificate Holder termed as Version-2011, Version 2012, and Version 2013.

1. Examination papers are e-mailed to you
2. Study guide to be downloaded fromwww.icd10codersacademy.com
3. Open book examination

Ten-day time frame to complete the examination

A6.  Must pass with minimum grade of 80%, to be awarded certification

Two free retakes, should you not pass the first time.

A8. Prices vary in each country, in the USA the test costs $160, in UK it costs $229 while in UAE is costs $229.

Study Guide
ICD-10 Mapper
ICD-10-CM manual
ICD-10-PCS manual
All of the above material is free for ICD-10 Coders Academy members.