One of the predominant concerns within the healthcare industry regarding ICD-10 implementation is how the new coding system may impact a clinic's productivity. Many physicians and staff members have long been worried about what overhauling their chiropractic EHR software will do to overall workflow, and whether or not investing in ICD-10 and learning its tens of thousands of new codes will just slow down, rather than improve, administrative duties.

As industry news source Government Health IT notes, while medical practices could spend less time on improving clinical documentation and more time on their patients now, this will effectively put them behind in understanding ICD-10 codes. As a result, these clinics will then have to face more medical queries, hampering productivity even further.

The best way to get out ahead of a wave of bothersome queries, the source writes, is to teach staff members the right ICD-10 terminology and diagnosis codes now. The more educated your physician's office is on how to properly input ICD-10 diagnosis codes, the more improved reimbursements will be, ensuring that providers are billed appropriately.

"In addition to using ICD-10 language now in queries, ask for details now that support ICD-10 levels of specificity," adds Carl Natale, the source's author. "[This] will train physicians to use the kind of documentation that will support ICD-10 coding."

By setting aside time now to learning the ropes on ICD-10 codes, the fewer queries you will be encumbered with come next year, allowing you extra time to spend on patient care.

With over a year to go until the ICD-10 deadline, investing in new EHR chiropractic software now can help bring a practice's coding needs up to speed.