Practice Management Alert

Part of your 2012 plan should be prepping for ICD-10 -- Let these six questions guide your efforts.Denials aren't the only thing you have to fear if your practice doesn't implement ICD-10 by the Oct. 1, 2013 deadline. You could face fines, too, according to CMS. Based on comments from CMS representatives in recent CMS ICD-10 teleconferences, we've broken down six FAQs that promise to help you ramp up ICD-10 coding for your practice.Prepare for Medicare and Other PayersCMS has no intention of delaying the implementation of ICD-10 beyond the Oct. 1, 2013 date, according to CMS's Kyle Miller. However, not all entities are prepared for the conversion, he noted.Question 1: Only entities covered by HIPAA must make the transition to ICD-10 -- does that mean workers' compensation insurers will still use ICD-9, even after Answer: The response to that is unclear, but CMS has heard murmurs that workers' comp. insurers will [...]