Connecting Client ICD-10 Needs To Concrete IT Service Offerings

By Megan Williams, contributing writer

IT solutions providers should make sure not to miss a growing opportunity to upsell service offerings while the ICD-10 deadline has the coding system top of mind with their clients.

The Problem

One of the biggest concerns your clients are currently facing is a predicted (and massive) drop in coder productivity around the ICD-10 implementation. To help them handle the issue, the Journal Of AHIMA (American Health Information Management Association) has called out three ways in which healthcare entities can keep coders producing.

This article will help you identify services and products you offer than can align with your clients’ most urgent needs.

Solutions

Training: AHIMA urges facilities and organizations to make sure coders are properly trained in ICD-10-CM/PCS.

If you offer more intensive and long-term training solutions (solutions that touch on dual and double coding over ongoing time frames) talk to your decision makers about using your services to keep their coders on top of things.

Hiring More Coders: This may seem outside of your wheelhouse, but you can help your clients address personnel issues.

If a drop in productivity is expected, most organizations will need to address that issue with more coders. AHIMA encourages organizations to look to community colleges (for graduates who don’t have to undo ICD-9 thinking) and as a solution to the issue of contract coding companies already being booked up.

If you have experience with your clients’ coding needs (and the results, mistakes, potential areas of improvement, etc.) talk to your clients about their hiring plans and offer any input or data you have that will help them refine their search and hiring processes.

Using Technology: AHIMA directly encourages transitioning organizations to look to technology for their answers.

The tool they recommend most strongly is computer-assisted coding (CAC), which assigns codes from documentation on the front end, leaving coders to only verify the validity in more of an audit-type function. As AHIMA points out, once coders are used to CAC systems, they typically see significant increases in productivity. Unfortunately timing can be an issue and ICD-10 and CAC systems likely shouldn’t be implemented at the same time.

If you offer CAC solutions, start talking to your clients about immediate implementation, or kicking things off after the ICD-10 transition is settled.

While there likely won’t be much of a drop on the outpatient side (since there are few changes between 9 and 10 in that area), inpatient coders will have a larger burden to carry. Begin your discussions with your clients with inpatient-heavy patient mixes to get started.