A quick and dirty news search of “ICD-10” reveals that in the past month over 140 news articles were posted referencing ICD-10. Why the continued hype about a conversion that is a little more than two years away? The answer is – ICD-10 is a serious feat and requires a substantial outlay of time, effort and funding. At the same time, it is a “learn as you go” conversion that affects nearly all aspects of an organization.
The most taxing part of this process is the fact that it is new to everyone. The only lessons to be learned are from organizations who are already in the trenches of ICD-10. Here is what they say:
“Bear down and plan well,” urged John Dingle, senior health systems engineering analyst at the Mayo Clinic.
“Without the right people in place to execute, ICD-10 implementations can drain an organization.”
These comments confirm that the conversion is more than a big deal – it’s the whole enchilada. It impacts business processes, HIT departments and healthcare policies as well as provides a slew of new data for analyses. It is important that organizations set up their systems appropriately so that both the organization and its patients are benefactors.
It is easy to sit back, read about ICD-10 and learn from other organizations. However, organizations can no longer afford to drag their heals. The conversion will take place as scheduled and failure to comply with the government deadline will result in unnecessary havoc. Do you have questions about ICD-10? Join us on September 15th for a free webinar “Opportunities Abound: Leveraging the Increased Data Granularity in the ICD-10 Code Set”. Register today!
