All Entries Tagged With: "AAPC"
Find answers to your ICD-10 questions
Over the last six months, I have noticed that the FAQ sections for different associations and organizations have increased in size and detail. Are you interested in learning the answers to the following questions:
- How soon after a code has been added or deleted will the General Equivalence Mappings (GEM) be updated to reflect these changes?
- Will there be a phase-in time period for ICD-10-CM and ICD-10-PCS where providers can use either ICD-9-CM or the ICD-10 based coding systems?
- Am I going to have to sit for my CPC (-H, -P) again to keep my AAPC credential once ICD-10-CM is implemented?
Check out the FAQ pages for the following organizations:
AAPC to host free Webinars
The American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC) will host later this week and next week a three-part Webinar series for providers and a two-part series for payers. These Webinars are designed to assist physicians, managers, coders, health plans, and other health care professionals toward a successful implementation of ICD-10.
These Webinars will provide implementation guidance steps to help with the transition. The Webinars are presented at no cost as a service to the health care community and will be available for download after each Webinar session for later reference. It is vitally important to begin preparing for ICD-10 now.
ICD-10 implementation amounts to much more than just asking your vendors for a software update. With the expanded specificity of ICD-10, our new coding system will change how providers document in the medical record, change medical payment policies, and may change contracting with health plans as well. It is not time to begin learning the code set, but it is time to begin planning.
Provider Webinar (Three-part series):
Part I-Thursday, July 16 (1 p.m. EST)
Part II-Thursday, July 23 (1 p.m. EST)
Part III-Thursday, July 30 (1 p.m. EST)
The provider Webinar series has already reached its limit of 1,000 registrants, however you can still register to be alerted in case space opens up. And of course, the presentation will be available soon after the series. But it’s not too late to register for the payer Webinar series.
Payer Webinar (Two-part series):
Part I-Tuesday, July 21 (1 p.m., EST)
Part II-Tuesday, July 28 (1 p.m. EST)
AAPC shares perspective on coder training
Since the Department of Health and Human Services’ January announcement on the final rule for the implementation of ICD-10, many questions have popped up. Some in the industry feel that if they do not contract a trainer or a consultant to provide training right now, they will fall behind and not meet the October 2013 compliance date.
However, the American Academy of Professional Coders’ (AAPC) emphasizes that now is not the time to begin training. Will you really remember everything you’re learning in 2009 four years later in 2013? Chances are that you will not, and to make the implementation as seamless and efficient as possible, the AAPC recommends holding off on training for the time being.
Our plan is unique in that our trainers will undergo an intensive “Train the Trainer” program, which we are not opening to the general healthcare population to ensure consistency with correct information conveyed to the healthcare community.
I must reiterate that now is not the time to begin learning the ICD-10 code set. The best time to begin is late in 2012 or early 2013. The AAPC has streamlined its training curriculum into different phases, starting this summer, when the association will give a three-part, free introduction to ICD-10 implementation Webinar. For more information, visit the AAPC’s ICD-10 Web page.
Revamp and redesign your IT system
At the American Academy of Professional Coders national conference in Las Vegas, the ICD-10 sessions were buzzing as the HIM/coding community sounded out about the impact ICD-10 will have on information technology (IT) systems.
One session attendee described the IT implications as “Y2K on steroids.” Another person at a separate session said, “This is going to make Y2K look like a blip on the radar.”
Deborah Grider, CPC, CPC-H, CPC-P, CPC-I, CEMC, gave a presentation titled, “ICD-10-CM: The Time To Begin Preparation is NOW,” and in that session, Grider provided the following tips:
- Vendors should plan for at least 12 months of testing prior to the October 1, 2013 implementation date.
- Your IT team will need to ensure that ICD-9 and ICD-10 can work in tandem for the months prior to and the months after ICD-10 takes effect.
- Make sure that the 5010 electronic code sets are in place at your facility. You must implement the 5010 code set by January 1, 2012.
- A typical provider group of three or more physicians might spend $2,000 – $8,000 for the IT conversion or system upgrade.
- Dual systems (ICD-9 and ICD-10) create space constraints for data storage
AAPC will require ICD-10 proficiency exam
At the American Academy of Professional Coders conference in Las Vegas, a wave of ICD-10 info (and emotion) washed over the conference attendees. Reed Pew, the AAPC CEO and president, made one announcement during his conference address on April 6 that caught the attention of many.
The AAPC will require all those with a certified professional coder (CPC) credential to take an ICD-10 proficiency exam to keep their certification. Even though this was met with a number of groans from the crowd, the AAPC is quick to stress the facts about the test:
- The test will be open book
- The test will be online
- It will consist of 75 questions
- It will cost about $60
- Coders will have two years to take the test, starting October 1, 2012
“We want to make sure we’re the best in the industry,” said Deb Grider, CPC, CPC-H, CPC-I, CPC-P, CEMC, COBGC, CCS-P, president of Deborah Grider and Associates in Indianapolis, IN, and the former president of the American Academy of Professional Coders National Advisory Board.
What is your reaction? Do you think this proficiency exam will help to ensure your coding department is prepared for the transition to ICD-10? Let us know what you think!
These helpful links can help you launch your ICD-10 efforts
Have you ever had a To-Do list that’s a mile long, and you just don’t know where to start? This implementation timeline is going to feel less like a mile and more like a Marathon. I thought it might be helpful to pass along some links that really do a deep dive into ICD-10. Hopefully these resources will get you started on your journey to ICD-10:
- Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services: www.cms.hhs.gov/icd-10
- American Health Information Management Association: www.ahima.org/icd10
- American Academy of Professional Coders: www.aapc.com/icd-10
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: www.cdc.gov/nchs/about/otheract/icd9/abticd10.htm
