Home Health ICD-9/ICD-10 Alert

To prepare for ICD-10, you can "shadow code" your current claims to determine whether the documentation is sufficient to code for ICD-10 and test your ability to do the coding. This means that you'll be randomly selecting claims and internally applying ICD-10 codes for your own edification -- but do not submit those codes. Instead, you'll just do the shadow coding so you'll know whether your documentation is thorough enough that you'll be able to select ICD-10 codes when the time comes. If the documentation doesn't provide the detail you need, this would give you over a year to train your clinicians and the physicians you work with to document better before the time comes.

But the standard for diagnostic coding for services now through Sept. 30, 2013 is ICD-9. No other codes will be accepted. Then, like a switch is thrown, on Oct. 1, 2013, the standard will be ICD-10.

For more detail on when to report ICD-10 codes on your home health claims and when ICD-9 codes are appropriate as the cut-over date approaches, see https://www.cms.gov/MLNMattersArticles/downloads/MM7492.pdf.