The exhibition floor at American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) 2013 convention comprises a mixture of emotions. On the one hand, this year marks the 85th year of the association’s existence and is cause for celebration. On the other hand, anxiety about meeting next year’s compliance date for ICD-10 is tangible and visible on the faces of attendees.
Although the technology to support the work of HIM staff and coders is abundant, that is secondary to the need of building awareness among all the individuals and organizations with a stake in ICD-10. As a result, the message coming through loud and clear is a basic one: Get to understand what ICD-10 is and isn’t.
First, ICD-10 is about reimbursement, but that’s not the only thing. Just as EHR adoption is heralded by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), and others as an opportunity to build a health IT infrastructure capable of supporting future improvements and endeavors, so too is ICD-10. Coding ensures that more data is structured or least accessible.
Although healthcare organizations and providers certainly must be concerned about keeping their businesses running, a successful approach to and implementation of ICD-10 can provide providers, patients, and payers with a wealth of information that can ultimately be used to predict trends and positively impact the care of populations of patients.
