More ICD-10 preparations to finish by December 31

Here are some final ICD-10 preparations you should make before New Year's.

Here are some final ICD-10 preparations you should make before New Year's.

In two short weeks, the ball in Times Square will drop as parties across the world celebrate the end to 2013 and the beginning of the new year. But for chiropractic practices, 2014 has plenty to offer up in the way of changes, not the least of which is the long overdue switch from ICD-9 to ICD-10. While practitioners will no longer have to worry about simultaneously adopting meaningful use Stage 2 – which has since been delayed to 2016 – they will have only nine months to ensure their chiropractic software is up to date and compliant with ICD-10.

To make sure that you're ready for this impending change, here are a couple more preparations you should have set up before the end of the year, in order to enter 2014 as ready as possible:

Coder education

There's no getting around the fact that transitioning to ICD-10 will entail a learning curve for many clinics and practices. Thorough and effective education for coders can help minimize the impact that the ICD-10 change will have on your overall workflow. The less prepared you are for the new coding language, the more time you will have to allocate toward learning how to use it and the less efficient your practice will become. Reviewing ICD-10 codes ahead of time and making sure you're ready for its implementation will help you to continue maintaining normal productivity.

Double check you're not missing anything

As EHR Intelligence notes, it doesn't matter if you're an independent doctor or an entire chain of hospitals: No matter who you are, ICD-10 is not going to be simple to pick up. As comprehensive as you may think you've been in updating chiropractic practice management software, there's bound to be something you missed along the way. Consult sources like the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to guarantee that you've checked off everything necessary before the new year rolls around.

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