Independence has begun testing with large health systems, which include hospitals, physicians, and clearing houses. We will be communicating our testing experience and lessons learned to network providers to ensure a smooth transition to ICD-10 by October 1, 2015.

Tips for a successful conversion

Steps you can take to ensure a successful transition to ICD-10:

1. Make a plan
• Identify which ICD-9 codes you use heavily.
• Identify staff that need to be trained in medical coding and/or documentation.
• Contact vendors to learn their transition plans, ICD-10-related costs to the practice, and resources available to the practice.
• Contact the specialty societies or the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) website for any resources available to the practice.
2. Get trained
• Buy or download an ICD-10 diagnosis codebook.
• Arrange and obtain documentation training for physicians and other clinicians.
• Crosswalk common diagnosis codes to ICD-10 and identify new requirements or differences in essential documentation.
• Sign up for key CMS webinars to increase understanding of the ICD-10 environment.
3. Update internal practice tools
• Convert superbills to ICD-10.
• Convert other materials to ICD-10, such as authorizations, orders, and referrals.
• Identify current code-related claim denials and areas where ICD-10?s specificity in documentation and code assignment can address this.
• Obtain payer medical polices with ICD-10 codes for comparison.
4. Work with vendors and payers
• Arrange and implement ICD-10 software upgrades and training for staff on use of new software, either directly or via the vendor.
• Identify electronic health records documentation templates and assess how they support ICD-10 specificity for claims submission and medical necessity.
• Engage payers on any discrepancies and omissions in ICD-10 coding for medical policies.
• Identify if payers anticipate any changes in processing and payment due to ICD-10.
5. Test the process
• Perform testing on systems within the practice.
• Perform end-to-end testing, where available.
• Identify and correct issues encountered during testing.
• Educate staff on the impact of ICD-10 to payer edits, adjudication, and other claims elements to processes within the practice.

For the most up-to-date information, including updates on external testing, frequently asked questions, and dial-in information for the next What's Up Wednesday call, please visit our dedicated ICD-10 web page and be sure to read future editions of Partners in Health Update^SM.