A key aspect of preparing for the ICD-10 transition is collaborating with your vendor to ensure that all systems and processes are where they need to be. Think of your vendor as a partner who can help you prepare for ICD-10.
In an electronic update issued April 26, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) offered the following list of questions that will assist you in assessing your vendor’s capabilities:
- Do your current vendor contracts cover your practice’s ICD-10-related needs?
- What is the vendor’s timeline for the ICD-10 transition?
- Will your vendor install products well before the October 1, 2014 deadline, so you can begin testing them in 2013?
- Has your vendor scheduled with you to test your system with your trading partners?
- Will all your vendor’s current products and applications be updated for ICD-10?
- Has your vendor scheduled training for your staff on the ICD-10 system updates?
- Do products give you the ability to search for codes by the ICD-10 alphabetic and tabular indexes? Do they allow you to search by clinical concept?
- Will the product allow for coding in both ICD-9 and ICD-10 to accommodate transactions with dates of service before Oct. 1, 2014, and transactions with dates of service after Oct. 1, 2014?
CMS noted that after you assess the vendor’s capabilities, you should continue communications throughout the ICD-10 transition. Here are the areas to keep in focus:
Planning
Communicate your needs and goals to your vendor and ask for your vendor to provide assurance in writing that products and testing plans will fulfill your requirements. Ask your vendor to share some strategies that other clients have used successfully.
Implementation and internal testing
Work with your vendor to update and test clinical, financial, actuarial, and reporting processes. Your vendor should offer technical support and guidance during and after the installation of new software.
Testing with payers
Find out how your vendor will provide support as you begin testing ICD-10 transactions with payers and other business trading partners. Allow up to a year in advance of the Oct. 1, 2014, ICD-10 deadline for testing with trading partners.
Resolving testing issues
Determine what role your vendor will play in resolving any testing failures.
Additional ICD-10 checklists, timelines, and implementation guides are available on the CMS website.
Frank Irving is the Editor at PhysBizTech, a publication of MedTech Media that provides business and technology intelligence to forward-thinking medical practices.
