November 2011 Newsletter
Planning for ICD-10
Quadax is already laying out our plans to develop, test, and implement the changes needed to handle the transition to ICD-10. With the final deadline just under two years away, it is important to start thinking about your own plans to handle and implement the transition.
Like the transition to ANSI 5010, the ICD-10 transition will entail a number of changes that Quadax will ask you to make in order to stay compliant. However, the scope of the ICD-10 transition is much greater than ANSI 5010. ICD-10 will affect the entire billing process, from how providers document their diagnoses to how the information is passed to the payer. The more detailed nature of ICD-10 means that a review of your entire billing process will be needed to identify every step that will be affected. This review can be a large undertaking. It is important that you create a plan of action for dealing with ICD-10 so that as new deadlines approach, new testing requirements appear, and the need for training arises, you are not scrambling to keep up with new developments.
Quadax’s EDI division has already set a date, April 23, 2013, to implement ICD-10 in the Xpeditor system. At that time, Xpeditor will be opened up for testing from all of our clients. Some of the questions that Quadax had to answer when deciding on this date were:
- How will we handle both ICD-10 and ICD-9 codes at the same time?
- What edits will be affected by this transition to ICD-10?
- When will payers begin to accept ICD-10 for testing and production?
- How will ICD-10 affect the production of claims?
In regards to our Accounts Receivable applications, we have already begun to lay the groundwork for ICD-10 in the infrastructure that supports HARP and PAS. The database structure has already been expanded to accommodate the larger ICD-10 codes, even though this change is not yet evident in the visible portions of either application.
Throughout this process, Quadax plans to share information regarding our transition to ICD-10 as we continue to reach the milestones for our own transition progress. Look for an ICD-10 information page to appear on the Quadax Portal sometime in the first quarter of 2012. As always, you can contact your Quadax Account Representative with any questions you may have about the ICD-10 transition and how it may affect the business you do with Quadax.
Keep a lookout for more articles on Quadax’s ICD-10 transition in future Q Tips!