Pathology/Lab Coding Alert

Start planning now for staff training.

If you hoped that the temporary White House halt to pending regulation meant youd get an extension to the proposed ICD-10 implementation date of Oct. 1, 2013,youre out of luck.

Following the required regulatory review, CMS announced March 5 that the ICD-10 effective date remains Oct. 1, 2013, and that CMS will not reopen the commentperiod.

Well help you get ready with our experts introduction to the code set and advice for timely training.

Do this: Its not too early to start implementation planning and preparation -- and to take advantage of the lead time, says Sue Bowman, RHIA, CCS, director of coding policy and compliance with American Health Information Management Association.

Know Key Differences Between ICD-9 and ICD-10

The biggest change youll need to cope with is sheer numbers -- ICD-10-CM has over 155,000 codes compared to ICD-9-CM which has 17,000 codes.

Here are some other differences you can expect out of ICD-10:

" More specificity. ICD-10 greatly expands the level of detail, but dont let that scare you. While the codes can provide greater specificity, assigning them wont necessarily require more detailed documentation. Other initiatives such as pay-for-performance and quality measures may require more detailed documentation,Bowman says. ICD-10 will simply provide the means for reporting that greater detail.

" Newer terminology. ICD-10-CM updates medical terminology and classification of disease to be consistent with current medical practice.

" More characters. Codes in ICD-10-CM are all alphanumeric and can be up to seven characters in length.The seventh character, referred to as an extension, is to show episode of care, such as initial encounter, subsequent encounter, or sequelae, and other additional information.

" More combination codes. ICD-10 combination codes provide detail that requires more than one code in ICD-9.

Plan Your Training Wisely

Once youve become familiar with ICD-10-CM and the way it works and looks, youll want to get some official training. But dont get your staff trained too far in advance, warns Joanne Byron, LPN, BSNH, CHA,CMC, CPC, CPC-I, MCMC, PCS, CEO of the American Institute of Healthcare Compliance Inc., in an e-mail to members. If they cant apply what theyve learned, the use it or lose it factor will kick in.

Best bet: Wait until three to six months before the final implementation date, Bowman suggests. Two to three days of training should be adequate for trained ICD-9 coders to learn what they need to know to make the transition, she says.

Training could become quite expensive, but you can avoid unnecessary costs by training one or two key people and having them train the rest of your staff, Byron suggests.

Good idea: Change encounter forms as soon as your-staff has completed their training, Byron says. This will allow them to use what they have learned and reinforce their understanding of the new code sets.

Finally, upload the new codes at least one month in advance, but use software security to prevent the codes from being assigned to dates of service prior to the effective date, Byron says.

Note: To view the ICD-10 codes, visit this site: www.cdc.gov/nchs/about/otheract/icd9/icd10cm.htm.