Introduction of the electronic health records (EHRs) and the
Affordable Care Act has brought an immense change in these last few years. Medical
billing and coding plays a major role in making sure that the American
healthcare systems works perfectly and smoothly.
Medical billers and coders use International Classification
of Diseases (ICD) when processing the claims and billing insurances. The number
of codes will change from 13,600 to approximately 70,000 codes as the system switches
from ICD-9 to ICD-10.
It seems like a huge number but anyone who has been trained
on medical billing and coding need not to be afraid. This is all happening due
to the change that all healthcare providers have to eventually adopt the
electronic health records.
EHRs, what are they?
Electronic health records have replaced the paper based
patient health records. EHRs help reduce errors in patient care and cut the
costs of the healthcare industry. Coders and medical billers use EHR systems to
receive financial reimbursements from the insurance companies. EHRs can be used
to generate bills for the patients as they contain all the details regarding
the patients from procedures to tests.
Do I have to learn
ICD-10?
The last date for ICD-10 compliance is October 1, 2014 and
all those healthcare providers who are covered by HIPAA are required to
successfully complete the transactions using the ICD-10 codes latest by the
date mentioned above. This also includes those healthcare providers who have
chosen not to switch to an EHR system.
How ICD-9 differs
from ICD-10?
There are various differences between the ICD-9 and ICD-10
codes. The structures of ICD-9 and ICD-10 are completely different. The ICD-9 code
uses three to five digits whereas ICD-10 codes uses combination of three to
seven consisting of letters and numbers. The new codes are separated into
categories and provide more accurate information for treatment of patients.
Labels: coding, EHR, EMR, health IT, healthcare, ICD-10, medical billing
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