Two Words
Specificity and
Necessity
2015 brings new changes to the billing practices of private
healthcare offices and hospitals throughout the nation. Two words now commonly heard and addressed at
professional medical conferences are specificity
and necessity. They are the key words
closely linked with education and implementation of ICD-10. Most practices should have helped to prepare
their staff with training and books by now to learn more about these upcoming
changes, but it doesn’t end there. Individuals who believe the training began
and ended with a few meetings and a little reading on the subject may find
themselves overwhelmed and unprepared if they do not continue to educate on
their own time taking the additional steps needed to understand why ICD-10 is
being implemented.
Changes and
Challenges
Changes and challenges open up the doors to
education and growth. Both can be met with positive action. All departments
have staff that can be motivated to contribute their knowledge, skills and
talents so that all can embrace the changes that are right around the corner.
Challenges can be embraced by those who understand the
important changes ICD-10 brings to the areas of billing and documentation
requirements. Just about every
department of the medical practice plays an important role in reimbursement.
Staff at the front desk handling referrals and authorizations need to have an
awareness of the upcoming changes. Billers and coders should already be
prepared with the new way the ICD-10 book is designed for code look up and how
conditions are billed.
Before and After
Now is the time to open up communications to make sure
everyone understands what is needed as of October 1, 2015. Specificity and necessity
must be established in billing and clinical documentation. Medical managers can
cultivate a more positive outcome for proper reimbursement of all submitted
medical claims if they are motivating their staff to be more knowledgeable and
supportive of the upcoming changes. Working
hard before ICD-10 is implemented
will pay off after October 1, 2015
for those who took the necessary steps to understand that this new coding
system is more than just updating record templates and software.
Two Questions
1.
Who is still in need of training regarding
anatomy and clinical documentation at your practice?
2.
Is the financial health of your healthcare organization at risk
due to a lack of preparedness?
These
are two questions that should lead to
more questions in any professional health care setting and answered as soon as possible so that the road to
compliance and proper reimbursement will be a well paved one for your practice.
The
final two words that we have often heard before many critical situations- Be Prepared.
