Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced it will add nearly 1,900 new diagnosis 
codes and 3,651 hospital inpatient procedure codes to the ICD-10 system in fiscal year 2017. Nearly 500 code titles will also be revised.
The additions and revisions will take effect Oct. 1, 2016, the one year after the transition from ICD-9 to ICD-10. The transition added about 68,000 new codes to the previous 13,000 billing codes in an effort to make diagnosis and reimbursement more specific and accurate.
Thus far, the the implementation of ICD-10 has been successful. Workgroup for Electronic Data Interchange (WEDI) publicly recommending that the federal government use it as a template for future mandates.
The Benefits of ICD-10
Replacing ICD-9-CM with ICD-10-CM and ICD-10-PCS will provide higher-quality information for measuring healthcare service quality, safety, and efficacy. This will in turn provide better data for:
- Quality measurement and medical error reduction (patient safety)
- Outcomes measurement
- Clinical research
- Clinical, financial, and administrative performance measurement
- Health policy planning
- Operational and strategic planning and healthcare delivery systems design
- Payment systems design and claims processing
- Reporting on use and effects of new medical technology
- Provider profiling
- Refinements to current reimbursement systems, such as severity-adjusted DRG systems
- Pay-for-performance programs
- Public health and bioterrorism monitoring
- Managing care and disease processes
- Educating consumers on costs and outcomes of treatment options
If you’ve seen an increase in denied claims since the implementation of ICD-10, Clinic Service can help. Please contact us today!
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