Date: 2014-09-19

Coalition provides tools and support to achieve continued decreases
The National Partnership to Improve Dementia Care, a public-private coalition, today established a new national goal of reducing the use of antipsychotic medications in long-stay nursing home residents by 25 percent by the end of 2015, and 30 percent by the end of 2016. The coalition includes the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), consumers, advocacy organizations, providers and professional associations.
Between the end of 2011 and the end of 2013, the national prevalence of antipsychotic use in long-stay nursing home residents was reduced by 15.1 percent, decreasing from 23.8 percent to 20.2 percent nationwide. The National Partnership is now working with nursing homes to reduce that rate even further.
“We know that many of the diagnoses in nursing home residents do not merit antipsychotics but they were being used anyway,” said Patrick Conway, M.D., deputy administrator for innovation and quality and the CMS chief medical officer. “In partnership with key stakeholders, we have set ambitious goals to reduce use of antipsychotics because there are – for many people with dementia – behavioral and other approaches to provide this care more effectively and safely.”
Coalition members, including AMDA – The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine, American Health Care Association (AHCA), LeadingAge and Advancing Excellence in America’s Nursing Homes, are committed to achieving these new goals. The groups set these goals because they are challenging, yet achievable with the continued hard work of many stakeholders. These goals build on the progress made to date and express the coalition’s commitment to continue this important effort. The National Partnership seeks to optimize the quality of life for residents in America’s nursing homes by improving care for all residents, especially those with dementia.
“We have created many tools for nursing homes to use to help achieve these goals,” said Dr. Conway. “Ultimately, nursing homes should re-think their approach to dementia care, re-connect with the person and their families, and use a comprehensive team-based approach to provide care.”
While the initial focus is on reducing the use of antipsychotic medications, the Partnership’s larger mission is to enhance the use of non-pharmacologic approaches and person-centered dementia care practices. CMS will monitor the reduction of antipsychotics as well as the possible consequences. For example, CMS will review prescriptions of anxiolytics and sedative/hypnotics to make sure nursing homes do not just replace antipsychotics with other drugs. In addition, CMS will review the cases of residents whose antipsychotics are withdrawn to make sure they don’t suffer an unnecessary decline in functional or cognitive status as a nursing home tries to reduce its usage.
Some states have achieved significant reduction in their rate of antipsychotic usage. For example, Georgia reduced its rate by 26.4 percent and North Carolina saw a 27.1 percent reduction. CMS released a fact sheet today with full state-by-state data as well as other data from the program.
CMS and its partners are committed to finding new ways to implement practices that enhance the quality of life for people with dementia, protect them from substandard care and promote goal-directed, person-centered care for every nursing home resident. The Partnership has engaged the nursing home industry across the country around reducing use of antipsychotic medications with momentum and success in this area that is expected to continue. In 2011, Medicare Part D spending on antipsychotic drugs totaled $7.6 billion, which was the second highest class of drugs, accounting for 8.4 percent of Part D spending.
In addition to posting a measure of each nursing home’s use of antipsychotic medications on the CMS Nursing Home Compare website, in the coming months CMS plans to add the antipsychotic measure to the calculations that CMS makes for each nursing home’s rating on the agency’s Five Star Quality Rating System.

Source: http://cms.gov/Newsroom/MediaReleaseDatabase/Press-releases/2014-Press-releases-items/2014-09-19.html

Date: 2014-09-15

Of 966,000 individuals with citizenship or immigration data matching issues as of May 30th, 851,000 are now closed or in progress, a reduction of 88 percent
Of 1.2 million households with income data matching issues as of May 30th, 897,000 households are now closed or in progress; consumers will be getting letters this week asking for information
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is committed to assisting consumers and protecting taxpayers by helping to ensure those who are enrolled in Marketplace coverage meet the eligibility requirements. As CMS prepares for the next Marketplace open enrollment period beginning on November 15, it is resolving data matching issues that occurred during the first year so that its records are accurate before the renewal process begins, and so that consumers have the information they need about their coverage. Throughout this process CMS has worked to maintain coverage for those who have sought it in the Marketplace, while meeting its obligation to the taxpayer to spend its dollars wisely.
Today, the Federal Health Insurance Marketplace (Federal Marketplace) began sending notices to consumers who have an income-related data matching issue. Individuals who do not respond to numerous previous attempts to contact them by September 30, 2014 may see the costs of their coverage change. For instance, this may impact the cost of their monthly premium, deductibles, copays, and co-insurance, and even their tax bill or refund during filing season.
“The Affordable Care Act is working for millions of Americans who are able to access quality health coverage at a price they can afford. In fact, most individuals who selected a plan with tax credit in the Federal Marketplace are paying less than $100 a month in premiums,” said CMS Administrator Marilyn Tavenner. “We are committed to keeping coverage affordable for the millions of Americans who depend on it, and to doing so in an efficient, transparent way that protects taxpayers. It’s critically important that consumers who still owe income-related documents to the Marketplace send them in by September 30 so we can continue to hold down their costs. We are pleased that the number of individuals who were at risk of losing their Marketplace coverage, or seeing changes in their costs because of data matching issues has been dramatically reduced in the last three months.”
Consumers often have more up-to-date information than what’s in CMS data sources. For example, the Marketplace verified income by checking 2012 tax return information, but a consumer could have switched jobs since those returns were filed. Just because CMS is double-checking data and requesting more documentation, doesn’t mean that a consumer has provided false information or that he or she is ineligible for help paying for coverage or health services – it simply means that the information on their application doesn’t match what’s in trusted data sources and therefore has to be verified.
On May 30, there were roughly 1.2 million households with income-related data-matching issues. This represents about 1.6 million people. We’ve made significant progress since then based on an extensive outreach campaign and enhanced operational effectiveness. As of September 14, approximately 467,000 household income data-matching issues have been closed and an additional 430,000 are currently in the process of being resolved. There are still about 279,000 households with unresolved income-related data-matching issues that haven’t sent in supporting information, representing 363,000 individuals. CMS will send letters starting today to individuals who, if they do not send in supporting documents by September 30, may see their costs change.
Income-related data matching notices are being sent in English and Spanish and will provide straightforward instructions on how consumers should submit the necessary information to the Marketplace to help keep their costs down. Those individuals receiving a letter referencing September 30 should log into their HealthCare.gov account and select their current application to upload their documents. They can also mail their information to our consumer center. To facilitate timely processing, consumers mailing in a copy of their documents should include the bar code page from the notice with their documents. Consumers may also contact our call center at 1-800-318-2596 to see what documents they need to submit and check whether the Federal Marketplace has received their information.
A network of partners, local assistors and other stakeholders including community health centers are actively communicating and engaging consumers to help them keep their health insurance and eligibility for financial assistance. Consumers may contact one of our partners in their community to get one-on-one help. To find one of these local partners, visit Find Local Help on HealthCare.gov.
Today, CMS is also providing an update on individuals with citizenship and immigration data matching issues. In August, we sent letters to about 310,000 Federal Marketplace consumers who had not submitted any outstanding citizenship or immigration documents after numerous requests. We’ve made progress in resolving these cases. We received hundreds of thousands of documents in response to the September 5th deadline resulting in a decrease from 966,000 as of the end of May to 115,000 as of September 14. To date, 115,000 individuals with citizenship and immigration data matching issues have not responded to our numerous contacts and will be receiving notices saying their last day of Federal Marketplace coverage is September 30, 2014. Those who submit information that confirms their eligibility after the deadline may be eligible for a special enrollment period to enroll in coverage.
For more helpful tips and the steps these consumers need to take,

Source: https://www.healthcare.gov/blog

http://cms.gov/Newsroom/MediaReleaseDatabase/Press-releases/2014-Press-releases-items/2014-09-15.html

I met with a colleague yesterday for a nice lunch and great conversation. She and her husband are small business owners and have two clinics in the area; truly dynamic people who are always willing to help someone out who needs it. The dilemma: They are too trusting to a fault. By her own admission, mind you. She described several situations where they have been taken advantage of by people they thought were friends or even other close colleagues. This woman does not have a “victim” attitude, rather she would never behave in a poor and selfish fashion so that is never her first thought when lending a hand or “giving someone a break.”
Let me tell you, there are plenty of people who will take advantage of your good nature, and are most likely doing so right now. I have recently encountered a few over the past several months. This scenario may ring a bell to you, as I’m sure you have experienced this, as well.
There was a patient, Mr. Smith, who insisted that a physician bill his wife’s insurance (a really stinky Aetna plan) knowing full well the insurance was going to deny the treatment because she had exceeded her plan limit on that treatment for the year. Once the insurance denies the claim, the patient wanted the physician to fight the insurance plan on his behalf to get the claim paid.
Let me tell you what is wrong with this situation:
1. As a medical professional, you are billing a patient insurance plan as a courtesy, not as a requirement.
2. With the stinky Aetna plan they possessed, the payment for the claim was under the break-even point for the appointment.
3. When the billing department employed by the physician had to try to appeal (and lost) the claim, they had to spend significant time gathering the required information, writing the appeal letter, reprinting the claims, etc. This is more administrative cost taking away from the profit of the already costly (for the physician) appointment.
4. Did I mention that the couple who had the stinky Aetna plan lived in a very prestigious area and were multi-millionaires?
5. Patients should never get to dictate your policy. If you know that a treatment is going to get denied, call the insurance company and explain that the patient needs the treatment and ask to charge them the plan cash rate for the treatment. By letting the insurance company know this is your plan, you have not breached your contract with them, and you are paid immediately.
6. By knowing the denial was going to deny, and then an appeal made, you have stretched that claim out into your 60-day to 90-day category.
All of these reasons are just an unacceptable way to manage your billing of claims, and this is just one scenario. Remember that you run your business, you make the rules, you follow your contract obligations, and you should never have to lose money on any claim because a patient tells you to. Where will they be when you close your doors? At one of your colleagues doing the same thing to them, that’s where.
Educate your front- and back-office staff along with your billing staff on your policies and never as the “norm” perform below your own standards. There is a fine line between customer service and people taking advantage of you. Write-down situations like these are start finding that line. Your accounts receivable and bank account will thank you.

By: P.J. Cloud-Moulds

– Source: http://www.physicianspractice.com/medical-billing-collections/dont-let-patients-take-advantage-your-medical-practice#sthash.a89q6G9Z.dpuf

The Comprehensive Error Rate Testing (CERT) program Medicare uses to assess the accuracy of provider billing has uncovered a big source for mistakes – documentation problems when a patient is receiving psychotherapy services on the same date as an E/M encounter, according to CMS.

There are really two takeaways coders and billers need to have to get these services billed correctly on a consistent basis. A big part of it will also involve proper physician documentation.

First, there are two different sets of psychotherapy codes, one set that are add-on codes for E/M services and one that are not. When an E/M service is not billed on the same day of service, you bill these codes:
• 90832, psychotherapy, 30 minutes with patient and/or family member;
• 90834, psychotherapy, 45 minutes with patient and/or family member;
• 90837, psychotherapy, 60 minutes with patient and/or family member.

When an E/M service is being billed on the same date of service, you bill these codes:
• 90833, psychotherapy, 30 minutes with patient and/or family member when performed with an E/M service;
• 90836, psychotherapy, 45 minutes with patient and/or family member when performed with an E/M service;
• 90838, psychotherapy, 60 minutes with patient and/or family member when performed with an E/M service.

A psychotherapy service that is less than 16 minutes long should not be billed.

The second element to the confusion is that issue of the length of the service. When you are billing the psychotherapy service alone, then the time should be documented for purposes of justifying the code chosen.

When you bill both services, the time spent on the psychotherapy service must be documented separately from the time spent on the E/M service. None of the E/M time can be counted toward the psychotherapy service and both services must be medically necessary.

Unlike in past years, the psychotherapy codes are no longer dependent on the place of service.

Author: Scott Kraft

– Source: http://codapedia.com/article_676_CMS-Lot-of-errors-billing-psychotherapy-services-when-E-M-visit-is-involved.cfm#sthash.QHJpfaUn.dpuf

The delay in the implementation of ICD-10-CM/PCS until Oct. 1, 2015, has given EHR users and vendors additional time to prepare their systems for the transition. It is doubtful that the majority of EHR systems and their users would have been able to make the transition seamlessly in 2014, and the delay has allowed time for a more orderly migration to ICD-10. I will discuss some of the challenges associated with updating your EHR for compliance with ICD-10 and the importance of working with your vendor.
EHR applications are often built around the business logic of medicine. A core feature of many of these products is their ability to capture ICD, CPT, and HCPCS codes that can be used for claims submission and provide supporting documentation. However, the methods they use to store billing codes within the several hundred EHR systems that are in use today vary widely. More advanced systems have a central terminology model that uses a reference terminology such as SNOMED CT to store clinical concepts at more precise level than supported by ICD-9 and even ICD-10. An example of this would be a condition called Benign Rolandic Epilepsy. There is no corresponding specific code for this disorder in ICD-9 or ICD-10, but it is represented by SNOMED CT code 44145005. This offers advantage for clinical medicine, quality assessment, and clinical research, but it does not meet the billing requirement. However, once information is captured and stored as SNOMED CT codes, it can be mapped to ICD-9 /ICD-10 codes required for claims submission and reimbursement. Since the core reference terminology does not need to change when a billing terminology update occurs, the EHR can allow user to seamlessly transition to ICD-10, ICD-11, or any other required terminology with minimal impact to the EHR user. In other words, terminology supporting clinical aspects of care are now managed by a code set designed for that purpose; but it still allows for the correct ICD codes to be submitted for claims purposes.
This is the preferred method for migrating to ICD-10 that has been, or is being, adopted by many EHR vendors. However, some systems may allow users to imbed ICD-9 and other billing codes within templates and other forms of locally created content. When this situation is present, imbedded ICD-9 codes will need to be updated to ICD-10 codes. This will require an understanding of ICD-10 billing requirements, as the supporting documentation in the template may need to be modified or expanded to address ICD-10 coding requirements. For example, a number of clinical conditions that were covered by one ICD-9 code now require multiple ICD-10-CM codes based on specific circumstances such as whether or not the patient is there for the initial, second, or third or subsequent visit.
In summary, checking with your EHR vendor on how the transition is being managed would be a good investment of time. If a true central terminology model is in place, and no local modifications are needed to your clinical content, you may be in relatively good shape. If your EHR vendor requires that you update the codes and supporting documentation in your locally developed or modified clinical content, you have a few extra months to complete the task and to learn about the nuances of ICD-10.

By: Michael Stearns

– Source: http://www.physicianspractice.com/medical-billing-collections/ehrs-and-icd-10-transition-planning-2015#sthash.c7fVCsvK.dpuf

The changes currently taking place with respect to data collection, coding, and billing are some of the most significant transformations in the history of the Medicare Advantage (MA) industry. That makes it more critical than ever for physicians — and physician groups — to put enhanced focus on not only the accurate and timely capture of data but on tracking a patient’s care and condition over time. Those physicians able to do this in a clear and consistent manner will be taking a major step toward ensuring that their practices remain profitable and relevant in the post-Affordable Care Act world.
The stakes are particularly high for physicians caring for patients enrolled in Medicare managed care plans. The guidance issued in April 2014 by CMS calls for reductions ranging from 1.9 percent to 3.65 percent in rates paid to privately run Medicare plans. These reductions have a trickling effect, which is why physicians across the country are already bracing for yet another round of reduced revenue. Physician groups, along with the MA plans with which they work, stand to collectively lose significant dollars in revenue if they don’t quickly learn how to adapt to the new environment.
One of the best ways to combat these reductions is to focus on Hierarchical Condition Category (HCC) coding. Since 2004, Medicare has used the HCC model to calculate payments to providers and health plans, but the sad truth is that most MA plans and their aligned physicians continue to miss significant opportunities to serve their members and maximize their revenue potential because of poor performance in this area.
The good news is that it need not be that way. Here are ten tips to HCC coding that are designed to provide greater efficiencies and enhanced quality and revenues for physicians serving the MA market:
1. As a medical group or independent practice association, you are most likely sending data electronically to your contracted health plans. If you are using an electronic data interchange (EDI) vendor, have a discussion with them to make certain you receive reports on rejected items. Also ask them to verify the maximum number of diagnosis codes they capture and transmit to your health plans. You may be able to locate diagnosis codes, otherwise lost, that will positively affect your revenue.
2. Find out if new patients already have assigned HCCs from their prior health plan. If so, be sure that you maintain those (if appropriate) moving forward. Doing so will assist with both continuity of care and comprehensive data collection.
3. Chart reviews offer great opportunities for in-service education or even the creation of educational materials. If your chart review uncovers common documentation errors, use this as an opportunity to develop training guides or even one-on-one training with physicians and office staff. In short, don’t think of chart reviews as an end, but rather a beginning.
4. New tools on the market make it easier than ever to track diagnosis data for terminated patients. Revenue can be re-captured for members that may have initially appeared on your monthly eligibility reports, but no longer appear because the member’s eligibility has ended. This is one of the most common areas for lost revenue and one that is worth renewed focus.
5. CMS expects member’s conditions to be documented and assessed each year. For that reason it is important to monitor each member’s HCCs for consistency in reporting. Pay particular attention to patients whose HCCs may be dropping as this could be an indication of gaps in care or in failing to accurately document services that were provided. Remember, CMS reimburses because resources were expended, as evidenced by documentation in the medical record, not because a member has a chronic condition.
6. Each October, new diagnosis codes are added and old ones deleted. Make sure you are using the most up-to-date codebooks to ensure that you are using the most current diagnosis codes. The cost of a codebook is minimal compared to the financial benefit.
7. Know how many diagnosis codes your claims system is capable of storing. Data is often lost merely because your system does not have a place to hold it. To ensure you are receiving accurate reimbursement, you must be able to capture and send all diagnosis codes from your claims and encounters.
8. While utilizing the ANSI-837 claims format may make you HIPAA compliant, the process may not be capturing all relevant clinical information. In some cases, providers and EDI vendors have mapped their legacy transaction set to the new format. This results in capturing the original nine codes — one primary (plus eight secondary) diagnoses — and continues to omit diagnosis 10 and beyond. Don’t let this happen to you.
9. Often payable claims take priority over encounters due to the federal regulations on timely payment of claims. If you are close to a CMS sweep, make sure there is no backlog of encounter data unprocessed, which could have detrimental effects on your revenue.
10. Your appeals department receives full medical records. Have a coder review them to see if there are any additional diagnostic codes to be found that will have a positive impact on your HCC scores.
In an era of accelerating medical costs and reduced payments from CMS, concentrating on HCC coding and documentation is one of the best ways to eliminate gaps in care and ensure money isn’t being left on the table. This is what everyone wants and with the right focus and tools, it can be done.

By: Pam Klugman

– Source: http://www.physicianspractice.com/medical-billing-collections/hcc-coding-10-tips-top-scores#sthash.BCEHpL06.dpuf

If CMS has its way, the multi-day global surgical package — which “bundles” all related services provided within a specified time of major or minor medical procedures into a single payment — soon will be, no more. If adopted, the plan would change significantly how CMS values CPT codes and pays for post-procedure follow up, and likely would lead to increased demand for primary-care services.
The 2015 Physician Fee Schedule Proposed Rule, published in the July 11 Federal Register, includes a proposal (section II.B.4) to transition all CPT codes currently assigned a 10-day global period to a 0-day global period in 2017. Codes assigned a 90-day global period would transition to a 0-day global period the following year.
According to CMS, “The typical number and level of post-operative visits during global periods may vary greatly across Medicare practitioners and beneficiaries,” leading the agency to conclude “that continued valuation and payment of these face-to-face services as a multi-day package may skew relativity and create unwarranted payment disparities.” CMS cites additional reasons that bundling of services into the 10- and 90-day global periods may result in inaccurate (i.e., too high) payments, including:
• … payment rates for the global surgery packages are not updated regularly based on any reporting of the actual costs of patient care.
• … the relationship between the work RVUs for the 10- and 90-day global codes (which includes the work RVU associated with the procedure itself) and the number of included post-operative visits in the existing values is not always clear.
• … the 10- and 90-day global periods reflect a long-established but no longer exclusive model of post-operative care that assumes the same practitioner who furnishes the procedure typically furnishes the follow-up visits related to that procedure.
If CMS successfully eliminates 10- and 90-day global periods, all codes would be revalued to exclude services previously included within the global period. Only same-day, related services would be bundled into payment for any procedure, and any “medically reasonable and necessary visits … during the pre- and post-operative periods” would be separately billable.
As a further result, primary-care providers are likely to be called on more often to provide follow-up care (primarily, evaluation and management services) that surgeons and specialists have been required to provide due to the global surgery rules.
CMS is currently seeking comments on this proposed change, as well as others outlined in the 2015 PFS proposed rule. All comments must be received by 5 p.m. September 2, 2014. See the proposed rule for commenting instructions

By: G. John Verhovshek

– Source: http://www.physicianspractice.com/medical-billing-collections/cms-proposal-eliminates-global-periods-could-boost-primary-care-demand#sthash.WEUznN9Z.dpuf

ICD-10 is a medical classification list issued by the World Health Organization. The 10th revision of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems is used for coding various diseases, their symptoms and signs, complaints, abnormal findings and external causes that may cause such disease or injury.
The ICD-10 code is used for tracking new diagnosis as well. This new set of codes can be used in more than 14,400 variations. It also comes with an optional sub classification system which allows the expansion of codes to over 16,000. The billers can also use the simplified multi axial approach to increase the number of codes as per their needs.
ICD-10 is of utmost importance for in-house medical coders as this protocol has been adopted by over 25 countries for the purpose of resource allocation and reimbursement. The member countries are allowed to make changes to ICD-10 therefore, the medical billing professionals should remain careful about the rules and regulations applicable to a particular country. ICD-10 has been translated into 42 different languages for the ease of use.
Medical coding professionals should be careful about confusing ICD-10 with the National Clinical Modifications (NCM) of the ICD. The NCM is also used for including more fields of data and separate details for procedures too. However, both the systems are different. ICD-10 can also be indirectly used to deal with the shortage of medical billing coders because the new coding standard comprises of many intricate details about the patient’s disease and the doctor’s diagnosis that was absent in ICD-9. This shortcoming in ICD-9 left more scope for the coder to use his knowledge to assign the most suitable code. ICD-10 thus proves to be more useful for the medical billing professionals and coders as it leaves lesser room for personal input.
On a broader perspective, the adoption of ICD-10 will help in evaluating the efficacy of new drugs, treatments and technologies. This will help in increasing the quality of medical care offered to the patients. It should also help in monitoring various processes such as epidemiological research and clinical trials. The new protocol is also useful in tracking public health and threat levels.
With the help of ICD-10, the medical community can also control its costs. It can help in designing efficient healthcare delivery systems. It can also contribute in taking better decisions in favor of the patients, as the system can provide the patients with the costs associated with their treatments and the possible outcomes in advance. ICD-10 can also be used for monitoring various means of payments before designing the most apt payment system. Hospitals can use it for the purpose of instituting performance related pay plans. This protocol is useful for creating health policies by using treatment and outcome data. It is easy to use and implement.
ICD-10 can prove to be helpful in monitoring abuse too. The upgraded coding standard can be used for proper monitoring of various undesired activities such as fraud, as it makes for proper documentation and has data about different kinds of procedures. It also ensures precise coding. Such automation will aid the process of claims adjudication.

By: Jacob Thomas

– Source: //www.medicalbillersandcoders.com/blog/importance-of-icd-10-for-in-house-medical-coders.html#sthash.OZo6JKGf.dpuf

As practices prepare for the October 1, 2014, transition to ICD-10, there’s been a good deal of discussion about the many new codes ICD-10 offers and how clinical documentation will be affected. Just as with ICD-9, complete documentation is essential for patient care and accurate selection of ICD-10 codes.

ICD-10 Captures Familiar Clinical Concepts

Concepts that are new to ICD-10 are not new to clinicians, who are already documenting a patient’s chart with more clinical information than an ICD-9 code can capture about:

• Initial Encounter, Subsequent Encounter, or Sequelae
• Acute or Chronic
• Right or Left
• Normal Healing, Delayed Healing, Nonunion, or Malunion

Many ICD-10 codes—more than one-third—are identical except for indicating laterality, or whether the right or left side of the body is affected. The advantage of ICD-10 codes is that they enable clinicians to capture laterality and other concepts in a standardized way that supports data exchange and interoperability for a more efficient health care system.

Verifying Your Documentation Is ICD-10-Ready

While ICD-10 should not require providers to change documentation practices, reviewing documentation will help you understand how ICD-10 will affect your practice. Understanding the scope of the ICD-10 transition will reduce the likelihood that you will overlook areas that need updates for ICD-10. Testing ICD­ 10, from documentation all the way through communication with billing services, is vital to making sure you have worked out any snags in the process before the October 1, 2014, transition date.
Take a look at documentation for the most often-used ICD-9 codes in your practice and work with coding staff to select the appropriate corresponding ICD-10 codes. Identifying these codes will help reinforce the information to highlight when documenting patient diagnoses for ICD-10.

Keep Up to Date on ICD-10

Visit the CMS ICD-10 website for the latest news and resources to help you
prepare for the October 1, 2014, deadline.