Many people might be wondering why CMS is even moving forward with the implementation of ICD-10 codes, but we are here to tell you why ICD-10 matters. It’s a daunting task, getting everyone in healthcare to adopt this new set of billing codes, which is why it has been pushed back so many times before. The time has finally come however, on October 1, 2015 ICD-10 codes will be implemented and healthcare providers will have 55,000+ (no, those zeroes are not a typo) new codes to learn.
Other than the fact that the ICD-10 train is coming and we don’t have a choice but to jump onboard, let’s take a look at a few ways ICD-10 will improve the health care industry:
It is vital to health care reform as it will help patients achieve better quality of care, improved care access and lower costs
It will improve quality reporting programs like PQRS
It will include new procedures and references to medical breakthroughs/innovations
It will help researchers to have a better, more focused understanding of public health
It will enable physicians to be more efficiently reimbursed for the care they are providing
Yes, learning all the new codes will take time. Yes, it might be a little annoying at first, but change is always a little uncomfortable. Just think, in a couple of years you won’t even remember what it was like before ICD-10. You’ll be all like, “You’re still hanging on to ICD-9 codes? Psh. Might as well be carrying around a flip phone in your cargo shorts while you listen to your Walkman.”