November 2010 Newsletter
Transition to ICD-10
The Quadax ICD-10 Committee is busy working towards a smooth transition to ICD-10 codes in October of 2013. The ICD-10 Committee, an aggregate of representatives from all Quadax application teams, has the responsibility for determining how each application team will implement ICD-10 in their products and how each application will manage the exchange points between the various applications. At every meeting, committee members discuss the progress made on a series of milestones necessary to ensure that Quadax is prepared for the transition well before the October 1, 2013, transition date. These important milestones include:
- Obtain the ICD-10 data files and General Equivalency Maps
- Understand the ICD-10 coding methodology
- Prepare and implement the ANSI-5010 format standards
- Evaluate the impact of ICD-10 on NCD/LCD policy
- Inventory all Quadax applications that will need updates
- Create projects to update Quadax applications
- Assign company resources to ICD-10 update projects
- Inform our client base of Quadax’s progress
- Share ideas with our clients about how to address the ICD-10 transition
The first completed milestone, obtaining copies of the current ICD-10 data set and General Equivalency Mapping (GEMS) files, was essential to the other tasks. We developed a user interface that allows us to browse and look up information within these files. Our systems teams use this resource to help them plan the implementation of ICD-10 in their applications.
The committee has also begun to address the issue of how to handle a phased implementation of the ICD-10 format. As some payers and providers will surely transition to ICD-10 early (and some are not required to implement at all, such as workers’ compensation plans), we are focusing on a solution that will ensure that the correct code set is sent to each payer.
Another milestone, Quadax’s implementation of the ANSI-5010 format, is already deep into its development cycle. Payers are beginning to publish testing and production schedules, and Quadax will closely monitor payer readiness. You can follow Quadax’s payer-by-payer implementation of the 5010 format on the Quadax payer list, available from the Portal and Help Desk menus. Once a payer’s transition to 5010 is complete, the payer’s 5010 icon will change from a gray background to green.
When a payer has been transitioned to the 5010 format, the 5010 icon on the Quadax Payer List will have a green background, similar to available 4010 transactions.
Quadax will continue to provide updates on the progress of our transition to ICD-10 in future newsletters so be sure to keep an eye out for the next Q Tips!