billing, cash flow, & icd-10 By Marion Webb This article is reprinted with the permission of Los Angeles County Medical Association’s Physician Magazine. With its October deadline approaching, ICD-10 implementation is at the top of the list of physician concerns for 2015. For many physicians, especially for those working out-of-network, knowing how to maximize recovery of pay will be a key consideration. In this article, we will address how you can prepare now to improve collections, and we will provide helpful tips and resources for getting on track to maximize your revenue.

LAYING THE GROUNDWORK FOR A SUCCESSFUL TRANSITION

Current ICD-9-CM diagnosis codes do not provide sufficient clinical specificity to describe the severity or complexity of various diseases, according to Physicians Practice. ICD-10 will add more than 68,000 codes, compared to ICD-9’s maximum of 13,000 codes. The new codes will be different in their organization, structure, detail, and composition and seek to improve operational capabilities of clinics and practices. Physicians will be able to better determine the severity of illnesses and therefore quantify the level of care more accurately. The codes will also create an electronic trail of documentation, which will 8 | THE BULLETIN | MARCH / APRIL 2015