We all have heard about the Parakeet code in ICD-10, as also a person walking into a lamppost code. But jokes apart, is your clinic really ready for the Oct 1, 2014 deadline;
- which is in fact an extension in itself?
- Is your medical billing team ready to speak the lingo of ICD-10?
- Have they mastered the 65,000 or more codes, a 500% rise compared to ICD-9?
- Are you utilizing crosswalking specialists to convert your ICD-9 codes before submission?
Or are you counting on the leniency of the payers themselves to accept your old code sets much after Oct 1, 2014, by means of their own crosswalking mechanisms?
As one can clearly see, there seems to be a heck of a lot of things left to chance here. Whether you have been living under a rock or taking flights of fanciful beliefs that ICD-10 might somehow go away, it is now time to face the bitter truth. ICD-10 is here to stay and come Oct 1, 2014 federal insurances like Medicare may not even touch your claims with a barge pole if they are not coded in ICD-10.
So, if it looks like you may not cross the finishing line, as far as ICD-10 is concerned, by Oct 1, 2014, do what the majority of your colleagues have done successfully; outsource to a dedicated ICD-10 compliant medical billing company like Billing Paradise.
As they say, the intelligent see only the complexity, but the wise sift through and see the simplicity. Don’t be sidetracked by any geek squad who promise the world to you in terms of crosswalking solutions; remember that ultimately it is your head under the guillotine.
Be wise, call Billing Paradise at 1-888-571-9069. We promise you that it will be the last time you’ll ever hear about ICD-10 transition woes.
