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10 Ways ICD-10 Will Improve Quality of Care
6. Tracks healthcare-associated conditions
The ICD-10 code allows much greater explanation and accountability for adverse events that can occur within healthcare institutions. For example, there are at least 50 categories for a foreign object, whether the patient came in with it or not. And if a fall or other mishap occurred within a hospital, the location is specified as the bathroom, cafeteria, corridor, the operating room or the patient's room.
7. Specifies procedures by degree of difficulty
The new codes allow certain procedures to be subdivided by difficulty. Bowman says that under ICD-9, there is only one code for artery suture, but in ICD-10, there are 195: Four different approaches and 67 possible arteries. Though some are far more difficult than others, under the current code set, they are all lumped together.
8. Allows for more precision in reporting complications from medical devices
In the current system, a patient death or serious disability due to a device malfunction or breakdown is classified as 996.1: Mechanical complication of other vascular device, implant, and graft.
ICD-10 allows providers to be much more precise in describing the nature of the malfunction. The new code differentiates whether there is a mechanical breakdown of a vascular dialysis catheter, an arteriovenous shunt, a balloon counterpulsation device, or an umbrella device.
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Comments are moderated. Please be patient.
ralph (2/17/2012 at 12:48 PM)
I'm trying to understand how going from 14,000 CPT billing codes to 140,000 ICD-10 billing codes improves quality of medicine? It might improve the quality of live of bean counters who have to sort through this mess, but thats it. Thats why at www.medibid.com there are no billing codes, and patients save about 80% off of the billed rates
patient advocate (12/2/2011 at 2:30 PM)
Physician practices are provided with a substantial amount of money to ease the burden of modernizing their practice to use EHRs, and transitioning to ICD10 is certainly part of that. A $40,000+ investment by American tax payers that is available to all physicians that adopt new HIT technologies is a far cry from "and do it all at my own costs".
Dr. Nathan (12/2/2011 at 11:01 AM)
The transition to ICD-10 in other countries will not parallel the experience of the U.S. The main difference is that other countries adopted versions of ICD-10 that had much fewer codes. Physicians in the U.S. are required to fund a transition that will be far more complex and difficult than in any other country due to our multipayer health care system. In addition, other countries offered government funding to offset implementation costs. Other countries also eased their health care systems through the transition by implementing ICD-10 in phases or in specific settings. It seems the only ones who are optimistic about ICD-10 are the hospitals and their consultants who are dreaming up expanded billing schemes. Physicians shouldn't be expected to carry a disproportionate burden of the ICD-10 investment costs when others will be the primary financial beneficiaries.