Care organizations and providers have just over 8 months before ICD-10 takes effect. Physicians, health systems, hospitals and practices are rushing to gear themselves up for the big change. But the urgency to shift to ICD-10 should not mean skipping an important first step – awareness.

Coding and compliance experts believe that physicians are not aware of the new codes, and are not thinking about the consequences of their decisions. Those implementing ICD-10 in their practices need to start being more attentive to this shift as it will help them in the future. If they recognize what lies ahead, it will put them in a better position to assess what should be done to make the shift. A lot of resources would have to be involved for ICD-10 to be implemented properly, and practices must ensure that the investment does not go to waste.

Physicians should set ICD-10 milestones to make sure they can clearly monitor their progress. . The focus should not be just on the cost, but also on planning well. The margin for error is very small; any delay could prove to be devastating. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has already pushed the implementation deadline back once, and remains steadfastly committed to the current one. It has time and again stressed that October 1, 2014, is when the system will be implemented nationwide, and no extensions will be offered.

Care providers who are not getting themselves ready for ICD-10 yet, must start putting plans in place to oversee the big shift. They need to start consulting organizations which have the necessary expertise, technology and resources, and can help them through the transition. In case they don’t do it, they will only find themselves even more frustrated come October 1.

Chief financial officer at MemorialCare Health System, Karen Testman, says that her organization is budgeting for five areas related to ICD-10 implementation: computer-assisted coding, comprehensive clinical documentation improvement, HIM training, system-wide IT component and training & education. She believes that the early adoption of the system will help them alleviate much of the lost productivity of the staff, that many providers are expecting when ICD-10 goes live.

Practices must address these issues before implementing ICD-10:

• Is my organization ready to make a smooth transition?
• Do we have enough staff and skilled coders? How can we train coders for our practice?
• How can productivity be least impacted during training, transition and implementation phases?
• Will our IT department be able to handle ICD-10 transition?
• What will be our final cost?
• How do we manage our revenues during implementation of the new system?
• Are our clearing houses and payers ready for the change?

The American Medical Association estimates ICD-10 implementation costs to be between $83,000 and $2.7 million, depending on the organization size.

Implementing ICD-10 is a major challenge for care providers who are facing many other challenges simultaneously, including meeting Meaningful Use requirements, but with proper planning, communication and assessment, the impact of the new system can be minimized and the transition be made smoother than expected.