University of Illinois at Chicago researchers have developed a website that walks healthcare providers through the challenging transition from the current International Classification of Diseases — ICD-9 — to the new ICD-10.
Doctors, hospitals and all other healthcare providers have until October 2014 to switch to the new coding system, used to classify every disease or condition and in every aspect of healthcare from ordering supplies to insurance reimbursement.
The switch won’t be easy — the number of codes has grown from 14,000 to 68,000. The AMA estimates the administrative costs for physicians will be $87,000 to $2.7 million per practice, plus potential losses in reimbursement due to incorrect coding.
