Wellington, FL -- (SBWIRE) -- 05/06/2013 -- The medical staff in most hospitals or busy physician practices are probably not going to sit down for a didactic session on ICD-10-CM/PCS coding. With the upcoming rollout of the ICD-10-CM coding changes, the staff’s level of expertise will have a profound impact on revenue for the medical facility. Health Systems Management Network, Inc. has created the Start Ten program to assist hospital and physician staff to transition from ICD-9 to ICD-10/PCS.

While many medical practices have implemented the electronic record that will embed the new codes, they will not have created the clinical documentation needed to support the coding.

Coders, unless they have an intimate working knowledge of the clinical practice/procedures of their physicians (despite the training they may have received on ICD-10-CM/PCS) may not be able to construct an appropriate procedure code or correctly assess the codes for the MS-DRG assignment.

In 27 years of operation, Health Systems Management Network, Inc. (HSMN) has helped transition many medical and revenue cycle staffs to each iteration of the DRG and APC reimbursement methodologies through a very thoughtful process whose main core is combining clinical/technical knowledge with critical thinking skills.

HSMN has used the advice of the many physicians with whom it has worked on all of the transitions. From the advice and the practical work of spending time with the attending staff, house officers, nurse practitioners, primary care and specialty nurses and the revenue cycle staff, HSMN has learned that the clinical and coding staff must have training that reflects their reality.

The reality faced each day by the clinical staff is that no two patients are the same clinically and demographically. Therefore, HSMN’s approach to this new transitioning is to test where the client is, and where they need to go.

HSMN has introduced a very successful technique called Case Deconstruction and then ICD-9-CM Reconstruction into ICD-10-CM/PCS. The concept is simple and elegant. HSMN reviews current cases in ICD-9-CM and parses them to see whether the clinical documentation and the coding/MS-DRG match perfectly.

Based on the case’s existing documentation and coding, HSMN begins by analyzing where the problems may lie in either the clinical documentation or the coder skill level. The “Case” is then reconstructed into the ICD-10-CM/PCS and presented to the medical staff.

While HSMN works closely with coders, it also confers with the medical staff member who was the lead physician/clinician on the “Case”. They then encourage and model a partnership which both clinician and coder are asked to present the entire ”Case” to the clinical staff of that particular discipline and to the coders who will work with them.

Deconstruction and reconstruction are the key elements along with clinical documentation and Coder Critical Thinking Skills for the success of the ICD-10-CM/PCS Transition. CMS in its pronouncements speaks of “Conversion”.

HSMN has stated, “In our experience there can be no conversion without internalizing an understanding of the differences between ICD-9-CM and ICD-10-CM. The understanding can only come about through a process that takes some time and energy.” Clearly the medical staff bare a burden of specificity never envisioned in medical school and for the coders it is the weight of judgment in the PCS assignment.

Medical staff often asks: “What is the incentive for me to improve my clinical documentation with this level of specificity”. The obvious answer for the physician is that better clinical documentation leads to improved quality of care. Another answer is that physicians are more intimately involved in coding then they assume. Consider the physician’s productivity for example. Physician productivity is expected to take a 10% to 20% hit do to an anticipated significant increase in coder’s queries. The physician’s time is better spent providing care, not answering coding queries.

The new coding scheme is about specificity and reporting; it is not about being paid more for procedures or visits. However, HSMN has found that when clinical staff is challenged, they will respond. HSMN’s ICD-10-CM/PC Start Ten Program was created to facilitate this process.

Call us 866-908-4226 or email info@hsmn.com for a consultation today.