Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/583494
10 ASC Management working with front office staff to identify prob- lem areas before they become systemic. Technology For nearly all U.S. surgical facilities and medical practices, charts, ledgers and other physical record- keeping will soon be obsolete. Today, virtually ev- ery aspect of a practice or facility is — or will soon be — digitized. Before Oct. 1, ASCs were advised to aggressively monitor updates to their software systems, so that ICD-10-related changes were in- corporated. This shouldn't end after the deadline, as vendors are expected to continue to release ICD- related updates for the foreseeable future. Alongside cash flow, productivity is expected to be a primary casualty of the ICD-10 transition — slow- ing down coding staff by as much as 50 percent, ac- cording to a recent time study published in the Per- spectives in Health Information Management. liminating as many manual processes as possible during the transition can cut down on the productiv- ity loss. Process improvement tools such as Six Sig- ma provide a deliberate methodology for assessing and improving repetitive business office tasks for healthcare providers. Popularized by GE decades ago, Six Sigma can lower labor costs, reduce bill- ing and coding errors, and improve customer ser- vice for healthcare organizations by refining exist- ing processes using the following five steps: define, measure, analyze, improve and control. ICD-10 is often mistakenly identified as a pure coding change. In fact, it's a revenue cycle man- agement change that affects every aspect of a modern day ASC or physician practice. Continu- ally communicating with all staff and physicians, educating them about denied claims, and revamp- ing processes and procedures is an essential part of preventing repeated errors. At least through Jan. 1, daily all-staff meet- ings provide an opportunity for the various de- partments of a surgical facility to share their experiences and solicit feedback about ICD- 10-related issues. After Oct. 1, A/R will begin receiving information from payers at least as frequently, so convening quick staff huddles in the morning can make sure information from previous days sticks. Clearinghouses Clearinghouses and other healthcare vendors ap- peared universally well-prepared for the Oct. 1 deadline, according to the July 30 WEDI survey. All of the vendors interviewed indicated that they had started developing their ICD-10 solutions, and 90 percent were at least halfway done. Physician documentation Continuing to work with clearinghouses after the deadline should remain a priority. Many of these firms will continue to provide testing op- portunities after Oct. 1, which allows providers a foolproof method for determining if they have a clean path. With clinical matters taking a priority, the ICD-10 learning curve is expected to be steepest for phy- sicians. All ASCs and physician practices should assign a dedicated resource to review physician documentation, identify areas for improvement, provide the necessary feedback and limit the use of unspecified codes. Many software providers updated their systems ahead of deadline to include prompts that ask physicians more detailed questions when they're entering patient information into the interface. Still, some facilities also may need to develop new EHR query forms that can prompt physicians towards the correct codes. In its July 30 survey, WEDI identified physicians as the least prepared in the immediate months preceding the deadline, while concluding that the remaining healthcare industry stakeholders — vendors and payers — are "expected to be ready by October 1." Were they right? Only the coming months will tell. n This guest column is the final installment of a three-part series on ICD-10 readiness, trouble- shooting and solutions. You have an out‐of‐network problem. You just don't know it. Learn how to increase your out‐of‐network reimbursements by over 30% www.collectrx.com info@collectrx.com 1‐877‐230‐2440