Confused about the implementation of the new medical coding system called ICD-10? So is everyone, including the federal government — so much so, in fact, that Congress passed legislation that delayed ICD-10 implementation for a year after its original start date.
But for those stumped by the transition to the new system, there are resources. Take Rhonda Buckholtz, the vice president of ICD-10 education and training for American Academy of Professional Coders, a Utah-based organization that offers classes and credentialing to medical professionals. She says it’s her job to provide a guiding light to confused physicians.
Buckholtz spoke to The Tennessean about good ways to keep a calm head during regulatory chaos and what the new code for a flaming water ski injury really means.
I’ve heard that the ICD-10 system includes codes for some pretty kooky injuries. How are physicians reacting to that?
I think everybody got that this was going to be a massive change, and that’s where the controversy came from. Because you hear all the time the jokes about codes for being burned on flaming waterskies or those types of things, right? People are going, “This is just so crazy, we’re never going to be able to do it.”
How do you keep them calm?
What I’ve been trying to tell the providers that we work with is any time you read something, sit and think, how does that apply to my office? Think about it, when was the last time you saw this in your practice? When was the last time you treated a patient that was burned on flaming water skis? Those are not codes that most physicians are even going to have to use. We should be putting about one percent attention on those codes and instead, they’ve gotten 90 percent.
Were you surprised by this latest delay?
Well, I mean, whenever we get a government regulation, we always know there’s going to be controversy with it because history has shown us that they don’t keep the original deadline. What I think is bothering most people in the industry is that this wasn’t even about the industry not being ready — this was out of our hands completely.
What is the main issue you’re hearing from providers about the ICD-10 delay?
There are a lot of facilities that were completely ready that had to bring in and pay ICD-10 teams that are now going to have to continue to employ those teams. That increases the implementation cost.
People are concerned and frustrated because every penny in a practice matters right now. But, historically, what’s happened in health care is we get a reprieve and we put it on the back shelf until it comes time and we do ourselves a disservice. Our job is getting the word out there that, hey, it’s not going away and we’ve got to get ready. If you don’t get ready now, you’re really putting your practice at risk. And we want to mitigate that risk as much as possible.
How did you become a voice of reason in medical coding?
I actually started my career in health care as a fully licensed insurance broker. A friend of mine who worked in medical practice contacted me and asked if I was looking for a job, and I ended up taking it. I just kind of worked my way around. That’s how I was introduced to coding many, many years ago. I absolutely loved the coding piece and the revenue piece.
I have heard zero other people in health care say that they love the coding and revenue piece.
It’s always a challenge! And I think that’s what drives me, I like the challenge. I also like helping physicians — I’ve always been intrigued by making sure they get the best that’s coming to them. They work hard for the little money that they get now. There are so many initiatives that are out there that affect them, and ICD-10 is just this one little spot among everything else that they have to get accomplished. It’s just my job to make sure that they get there.
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Originally published on: The Tennessean
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