One of the best ways you can start preparing for the upcoming ICD-10 deadline is by conducting efforts to improve clinical documentation now. Failing to prepare for ICD-10 documentation requirements can drastically impact your revenue—missing information may prevent claims from even being submitted. Taking steps now to improve your clinical documentation will help your practice get paid faster and experience fewer delays and denials during the changeover.
How will ICD-10 Affect Clinical Documentation?
As practices prepare for the October 1, 2014, transition to ICD-10, there's been a good deal of discussion about the many new codes ICD-10 offers and how clinical documentation will be affected. Just as with ICD-9, complete documentation is essential for patient care and accurate selection of ICD-10 codes.
ICD-10 Captures Familiar Clinical Concepts
Concepts that are new to ICD-10 are not new to clinicians, who are already documenting a patient's chart with more clinical information than an ICD-9 code can capture about:
- Initial Encounter, Subsequent Encounter, or Sequelae
Acute or Chronic
Right or Left
Normal Healing, Delayed Healing, Nonunion, or Malunion