When it comes to steering your way through the ICD-10 transformation, your practice needs someone who is partially task expert, partially leader and partially coding expert. Here are 5 steps that you can take in order to become an ICD-10 winner.
  1. Team up- Preparing for ICD-10 is a team effort and the role of the leader is to take the clinical and administrative staff together towards a common goal. By making everyone aware of the extent and impact of the ICD-10 transformation on your practice.
  2. Engage- In many occasions it’s up to the ICD-10 leader to lead the initiative of ICD-10 transformation. Rather than waiting the leader should actively engage, build out schedules and start the steps for transformation.
  3. Organize yourself- With so many details ICD-10 leader needs to organize themselves. They need to arrange a committee of representatives from every part of the practice so that each and every detail can be taken in to consideration and get the level of attention it deserves.
  4. Be rational- Productivity will take a punch as coders familiarize themselves with new code set, so the leader needs to make plans to address the productivity losses and to overcome any expected challenges.
  5. Be resourceful-Although the shift to ICD-10 is immense but the leaders of ICD-10 don’t have to do it alone. There are plenty of material and services available from Center for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS), Practice Management Institute (PMI) and American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC). These resource materials include checklists, timelines, implementation guides, assists in preparation and planning.