Ready. Set. Go. Repeat. Three Things HIM Should Do Now.

The certainty of uncertainty is finally over. With the new ICD-10 go live date firmly in place, healthcare providers can get back to work on ICD-10 preparation, education and implementation.

Bring out those plans and re-convene the team. It is time to get back to work for ICD-10! Here are the top three things to get done in 2012.

• Fine-Tune Educational Plan

Now is the time to lay out a detailed educational plan for coders and clinical documentation improvement (CDI) teams. ICD-10 education requires a great deal of time, effort and money, especially for coders and CDI. Be sure to include all associated costs and obtain executive approval.

Over the past six months, TrustHCS has been conducting joint training workshops for coders and CDI one MDC at a time.  The results are impressive and feedback has been very positive and supportive of this educational approach  We highly suggest training these two groups side-by-side.

• Assess Clinical Documentation

Industry experts suggest that 73% of existing clinical documentation won’t pass muster for ICD-10.  If this is truly the case, there is a lot of work to do in this area.

Another important task to begin now is assessing the adequacy of your Clinical Documentation Integrity program.  Are your physicians responding to 100% of their queries?  Do you feel you are missing opportunities to code CC’s and MCCs? Do your coders and CDI Specialists meet routinely with their leadership to compare data and plan operational improvements?

Robust CDI programs reflect quality in care that is publically reported, impact length of stay, support medical necessity, and maximize revenue to name just a few.  Focusing on specific diagnosis and procedures that carry new or more-specific documentation requirements in ICD-10 is critically important. It is also important that you align all documentation stakeholders toward the goal of having outstanding clinical documentation that reflects the highest quality of care.

Check out our other blog posts on this critical topic!

• Update Executive Team

If your organization placed ICD-10 on the back burner these past six months, now is also the time to re-ignite senior executives. Leadership needs to lead and support the areas that will be operationalized for ICD-10.

ICD-10 is a C-suite and Board of Directors responsibility first and foremost. Delegation of ICD-10 readiness cannot be laid at the feet of HIM.  Additionally, revenue cycle needs to be actively engaged as does the IT department and many clinicians, over and above physicians.  Executive presentations should address these three areas:

• Financial Risk
• Reputational Harm
• Staffing Impact

Learn  more by reading Torrey’s blog on this topic: “Three Points for Your CEO”.