All Entries Tagged With: "ICD-10 codes"
My experience at an AHIMA trainer session Part 3
During this three-day training, we learned as much as possible about this new classification system. I received a letter in the mail right before leaving for the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) Academy for ICD-10 trainer session in Grapevine, TX, only to find out that the learning doesn’t end after the three days!
I still have to take the “final exam” between late October and late January 2010 to demonstrate that I understand and can apply this new system to become an “AHIMA certified ICD-10 trainer.”
I was surprised that there was not a specific credential or at least a designation, even if it was just an appendage onto one of my AHIMA certifications, to notate that I had endured this training. Even the American Academy for Professional Coders designates its professional medical coding curriculum (PMCC) instructors with an “I” at the end of their credential (i.e., CPC-I).
I’m not sure how to publicize that I did this training other than to add it as a tidbit of information onto my bio. It should be identified somehow right?
It was amazing to sit through such an intensive training session. I recently taught a class in Boston, and I had to admit to my students that I was reminded of how my Boot Camp attendees feel when we cover so much material in a five-day class. I had an increased sympathy for them, having endured it myself recently. It reinforced to me how important it is to have engaging, fun, and energetic instructors — especially in an intensive learning format.
This three-day session was definitely an information-overload experience, but I feel confident that I can share this information with the masses when the need arises.
Has your coding manager or coding staff members attended any kind of ICD-10 training sessions yet? Now that I’ve shared a bit of my experience, we would love to hear what yours was like. Please post your comment here.
My experience at an AHIMA trainer session Part 2
In a recent post, I talked about my experience attending an American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) Academy for ICD-10 trainer session. While I am excited about certain aspects of ICD-10-CM, I’m not as quick to warm up to ICD-10-PCS, which is very different from what we currently use in ICD-9-CM Volume 3.
The use of the many tables and definitions of certain procedures make this system much more applicable in a clinical sense. However, I did find myself having to continually reference definitions of the various root operations in the front of the PCS manual.
I would read a question and have to really think about whether the question was about a “change,” “replacement,” “extraction,” “extirpation,” etc.
Extirpation was my word of the day. I looked this word up in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary only to find the definition includes the following:
- To pull up by the roots
- To destroy completely
- To remove by surgery
Well, that didn’t help me much considering some of my choices for root operations include destruction, resection, transplantation, and excision, which all seem similar, don’t they?
Luckily, the introduction to the ICD-10-PCS manual provides a specific definition for extirpation, which is “taking or cutting out solid matter from a body part” (e.g., removal of a calculus). I’m glad this definition was in the manual otherwise I would have had a hard time using the official definition.
One of the comments people made at the AHIMA session was, “Will all my physicians have to document ‘extirpation’?” Rest assured, physicians do not need to use this exact verbiage for coders to assign the appropriate ICD-10-PCS codes.
However, because of the way the ICD-10-PCS system is set up, you do need to understand what the root operations are so you can reference the correct part of the procedure tables, identify the procedures the physicians document, and assign the correct codes.
My experience at an AHIMA trainer session
I recently completed the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) Academy for ICD-10 trainer session in Grapevine, TX. It was a whirlwind experience. The days were long, but it was fun to learn something new.
I am convinced now more than ever that ICD-10-CM is very much like ICD-9-CM. But ICD-10-PCS will take some getting used to.
For ICD-10-CM, we still follow the same steps to assign codes—they just don’t look like our beloved ICD-9-CM codes. I have memorized so many codes over the years (as I can imagine many of my fellow coders also have), so this will be one of the hardest adjustments to make. With ICD-10-CM, we will have to exercise our minds into learning and memorizing new codes. For example, all of us in the training session learned a new code the first day that I will never forget—I10 for hypertension!
There are definitely aspects about ICD-10-CM that I am excited about. We no longer need to concern ourselves with determining whether hypertension was benign or malignant or whether diabetes is uncontrolled or not stated as uncontrolled because ICD-10-CM codes are not differentiated in this manner.
For conditions such as septic shock, it is wonderful that we will have a combination code for sepsis with septic shock (R65.21). In ICD-9-CM, we generally have to report three codes (systemic infection, 995.92, and 785.52). With ICD-10-CM, we have to report only two codes: The underlying condition first and R65.21. Overall, we are still making progress in simplifying the system.
ICD-10-PCS is a whole different ball of wax! Stay tuned to hear more about this in a future blog. Have you attended one of AHIMA’s trainer sessions? What was your experience like? Share your comments here!
A coding tip that will make your ears perk up
This is just one of hundreds examples of changes coming with ICD-10. Every family practice regardless of size should identify a person(s) to be the designated ICD-10 expert. To develop appropriate education, every practice should take the time to recognize areas upon which ICD-10 will have a significant impact. As we get closer to the October 1, 2013, ICD-10 implementation date, take your current encounter form and convert it to ICD-10. The ICD-10 codes published today may not be exactly the same in 2013, but this conversion could be a good tool to show senior leaders in your practice how specific this new coding system can be.
For example, ear wax removal currently has one code. But this will expand to four codes in ICD-10:
Diagnosis: Impacted Cerumen
ICD-9
- 380.4 Impacted cerumen
ICD-10
- H61.20 Impacted cerumen, unspecified ear
- H61.21 Impacted cerumen, right ear
- H61.22 Impacted cerumen, left ear
- H61.23 Impacted cerumen, bilateral
