A Delay for ICD-10 – Now What? – Review of Ophthalmology

A one-year delay in ICD-10 implementation brings up many questions for doctors and health-care organizations.

This article answers the following questions:

• When did Congress announce the delay in ICD-10 implementation?
• Was there also a delay in implementing the new Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services 1500 form that provides increased “space” for ICD-10 codes?
• Will CMS continue to update ICD-10 files on its website?
• Will new codes continue to be created?
• Will CMS conduct additional front-end testing?
• Was the March 2014 end-to-end testing successful?
• Is it a worthwhile exercise to familiarize myself with the existing ICD-10-CM Manual?
• Should I continue to train my staff during this delay?
• Is there any value in practicing our ability to select an ICD-10 code?
• Are some ophthalmic diseases coded differently in ICD-10 than ICD-9, and will this necessitate a change in my current documentation?
• What other documentation changes should we consider making?
• Should we wait on ICD-10 and begin to prepare for ICD-11?

This article was published in Review of Ophthalmology’s Medicare Q & A column, which is written by Corcoran’s Vice-President, Donna McCune, CCS-P, COE, CPMA. To view the entire article in Review of Ophthalmology, click on the link below:

http://bt.e-ditionsbyfry.com/publication/?i=220546

See page 18.