While much has been published about the implementation of ICD-10 for hospitals, the body of knowledge for physician practices and medical groups is sorely lacking. Vendor upon vendor is assisting hospitals, but who is helping the single practitioners, specialists and groups? Now is the time for providers to take matters into their own hands and ensure they are ready to take the leap from ICD-9 to ICD-10.
ICD-10 — the World Health Organization’s 10th revision of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems — is a huge undertaking for any medical practice. Under this revision, only diagnosis codes — not procedure codes — change for practices and groups. And although physician payment is not driven by diagnosis codes, physicians are still required to show medical necessity, which is where practices must be thoroughly prepared to bridge the gap to this new code set.
