Is there a glimmer of hope on the ICD-10 horizon? October’s preparedness survey conducted by Health Revenue Assurance Holdings (HRAA) seems to indicate that providers are making some progress towards the October 1, 2014 transition date. The results showed modest increases in the number of organizations beginning staff training, dual coding, and clinical documentation improvement.
One year away from the conversion, things are starting to get serious. While 60% of hospitals in April of 2013 had started ICD-10 CM training for their coding staff, an additional 18% have started to sit their coders down for education. Sixty-four percent have started PCS training, compared to 45% in April, and 17% of hospitals have added dual coding to the agenda in response to the warnings about productivity losses anticipated during go-live.
“It is clear that ICD-10 is happening, and significantly more hospitals have begun programs since April” said Andrea Clark, Chairman and CEO of HRAA. “This is vital as coder productivity is expected to decrease by more than 70 percent with the transition. The better trained a hospital’s staff is the more of a chance they can beat these estimates.”
But the news isn’t all rosy. The vast majority of hospitals have no idea if their payers are planning to map claims utilizing CMS reimbursement maps to group the claims to DRGs. Few hospitals are evaluating the potential DRG grouper shifts inherent in the ICD-10 revamp, which may have significant reimbursement impacts.
