Care providers (includes physicians, physician offices, hospitals, laboratories)
- Identify your current systems and work processes that use ICD-9 codes
- Talk with your practice management system vendor about accommodations for both Version 5010 and ICD-10 codes
- Discuss implementation plans with all your clearinghouses, billing services, and payers to ensure a smooth transition
- Talk with your payers about how ICD-10 implementation might affect your contracts
- Identify potential changes to work flow and business processes
- Assess staff training needs. Identify the staff in your office who code, or have a need to know the new codes
- Budget for time and costs related to ICD-10 implementation
- Conduct test transactions using Version 5010/ICD-10 codes with your payers and clearinghouses
- Factor in any abnormal cash flow disparity post implementation from a contingent situation
Payers (includes insurance carriers, fiscal intermediaries, clearing houses)
- Incorporate a team to handle ICD-10 implementation
- Start an intranet resource for ICD-10 implementation team to share/update information
- Assess and identify processes/systems using ICD-9-CM
- Allocate adequate financial and human resources for smooth transition to ICD-10
- Provision a system to look up archived ICD-9-CM data post ICD-10 implementation
- Assess staff training needs and provide them with adequate online training, as to minimize their absence from work while at training
- Prepare for implement of Version 5010, the transaction precursor of ICD-10
- Review vendor readiness and assess their game plans for smooth ICD-10 implementation
- Conduct adequate test transactions using Version 5010/ICD-10 codes
Vendors (includes EMR vendors, coding and billing software developing companies):
- Start a team of core staff with goal of successful migration of all clients to ICD-10 implementation
- Assess client requirements and SOPs at various levels
- Provide emphasis to hire/train adequate human IT resources
- Identify/train human IT resources to include general equivalency mappers (GEMs) offered by CMS to discern the divergence between ICD-9 and ICD-10 and use the reimbursement mapping
- Engage clients to provide them regular updates, upgrades, any changed deadlines until smooth transition of each of your clients to ICD-10
