ICD-10 Readiness for Small Hospitals and Critical Access Hospitals
(Editor’s Note: This guest blog was provided by Keith Fulmer of Kforce Healthcare Solutions.)
As the Oct. 1, 2014, ICD-10 deadline approaches, small hospitals and critical access hospitals will likely face challenges and significant changes to their operational, technology and financial processes.
Although ICD-10 presents complex concerns for small hospitals, there are specific opportunities in operations, information technology, and finance. Taking a strategic approach to ICD-10 assessment and implementation can help meet ICD-10 requirements within budget, without compromising the quality of patient care or the efficiency of reimbursement procedures.
Kforce Healthcare Solutions highlights key areas to focus on improvements, including:
Operations - implement training and process improvement initiatives to help ensure accurate ICD-10 coding and clinical documentation throughout the transition
Technology - prepare testing, deployment and stabilization plans to facilitate third-party product acceptance
Education - provide education programs for employees impacted by ICD-10, as well as to support organization-wide ICD-10 awareness
Revenue Cycle - improve revenue cycle processes to support patient access, health information, coding and patient financial services
Governance - establish an ICD-10 steering committee to manage the overall implementation plan.
Operating with limited resources, small hospitals can benefit from working with a solutions provider when transitioning to ICD-10. An ICD-10 solutions provider understands the challenges of ICD-10 and can adapt to each facility's unique constraints, opportunities and vision while meeting regulatory requirements. Whether collaborating with an experienced ICD-10 solutions provider or independently managing an ICD-10 initiative, an affordable approach requires skilled resource utilization while maintaining the continuity of existing day-to-day operations.
View the full article on the Kforce Healthcare Solutions website to learn more.