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Tips for a Successful ICD-10 Transition
David Hansen, Practice Director of IT Optimizers, shares his perspectives.
The US Department of Health and Human Services recently finalized October 1, 2015 as the new ICD-10 compliance deadline. The transition will require significant training for the new codes, testing the new system, upgrade investment, and for other necessary preparations. So how do we make sure the ICD-10 transition is successful? Our Client Services Executive, David Hansen, shares some pointers for a successful ICD-10 transition.
What is the role of an ICD-10 Program Manager during the ICD-10 transition?
Beyond the standard program management roles, an ICD-10 Program Manager adds insights into ICD-10 implications which, when meshed with mapping of the organization's unique business and clinical practices, allows prioritizing conversion initiatives effectively. There are many preparation steps that might be taken; however, most of these provide little or no value. A key role for the Program Manager is thus to focus on what's most rewarding for a given organization. In addition, in many organizations anxiety remains high regarding the conversion, and thus an ICD-10 program manager must communicate effectively on where the organization is vulnerable to ICD-10 changes, where it is not vulnerable despite fears to the contrary and industry hype, and what progress has been made in remediation initiatives.
Now that ICD-10 deadline has been delayed to October 2015, how would you recommend health organizations navigate around this delay?
There are two parts to the extended deadline: one part is navigating around it and the other part is exploiting the time to take better advantage of ICD-10. Navigating around the delay means completing remediation of impacted systems and ensuring that the next year's system updates are also tested for ICD-10. Also, as new systems and upgrades are added, testing and training both under ICD-9 and ICD-10 regimes will be required.
Exploiting the time to take better advantage of ICD-10 means taking advantage of the opportunity to upgrade business processes. After conversion, best practices will have clinicians routinely supplying specific diagnosis and procedure information, revenue cycle teams effectively taking advantage of it, and quality analytics honing steadily improving processes. All three of these practice areas can see significant change, and to support the better business practices IT departments will be supplying advanced tools. For example, coding operations can be enhanced through rapidly evolving artificial intelligence and communication tools. Clinicians may require quicker tools to describe their cases thoroughly. Real clinical gains will come through mining this better specified information to catch errors in real time, prioritize improvement opportunities, and identify best practices.
What are some ways health care organizations can prepare for and stay on track with ICD-10 for a successful transition?
Health care organizations can map business practices with ICD-10 implications in focus, and thereby spot vulnerabilities and opportunities, and prioritize accordingly. Also, instead of just remediating existing systems, organizations need to look for how complimentary or new applications can spur operational movement. Lastly, while creating new operational approaches and their IT support, organizations can probe potentials with small scale, iterative initiatives. Agile projects make sense until significant unknowns are resolved.
From your experience, what are some of the special circumstances under which organizations decide they need to hire external ICD-10 Program Management help?
ICD-10 conversion creates similar sets of challenges for health care organizations, and hiring an external ICD-10 expertise can allow the client to leapfrog over the many issues dealt with elsewhere through painful and expensive trial and error. Further, many, if not most, health care organizations operate with sufficient staffing and expertise to run normal operations well, but they have limited resources to tackle major shocks to the system like ICD-10. Finally, it is frequently easier for an outsider to think outside the box on opportunities for an organization. At a minimum the outside perspective usually complements those of internal experts, and better options result.
How has your role as an ICD-10 Program Manager help bring value to the organizations you have worked for?
It helped bring out of the box thinking, experience across many functions in health industry, strategic thinking for focusing efforts on the most fruitful, mapping of unique system combinations, and synthesis of vulnerabilities and opportunities.
What other perspectives do you have and would like to share?
When it comes to hype in the industry around issues with ICD-10, beware of many overblown problems portrayed. A key benefit that I pride myself in bringing to organizations is giving them confidence to ignore overhyped ICD-10 issues. The expenses, as well as consultant and management time, saved can be considerable.
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Have ICD-10 Program Management needs? Email Joseph DeLuca or call (510) 287-3920 to schedule some time to discuss your needs and how we can bring value to your organization. |
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David Hansen
Client Services Executive
David has 20 years of health care information technology experience, bringing ideas, planning expertise, strategic market insights, adept team facilitation, and analytical prowess to dramatically improve processes for health care organizations.
He has worked with a diverse range of clients, including Siemens Norway, Stanford Hospital and Clinics, Kaiser Permanente, John Muir Health, Scottsdale Healthcare, Glaxo SmithKline, and Blue Shield of California, where he has successfully completed initiatives that included ICD-10 program management, economic modeling, future and current workflows analyses and improvement, and strategic IT and technology plans development.
David holds an MBA from the Haas School of Business and is an active member of Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society.
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