Posts Tagged ‘Training’

When you open the October 2013 Coding Edge, we’ll be using ICD-10-CM.

After more than a decade of false starts and revisions, we are all finally packing for destination ICD-10, which features a new language of an enormous but elegant “smart code” set. For a profession whose members weather weekly reimbursement rules and quarterly code changes, implementation seems both reassuringly far away and uncomfortably close. And frankly, after experiences like the Correct Coding Initiative (CCI) Black Box Edits and various audit programs, it’s hard to get excited about embarking on a boat for yet another federal initiative.

That’s why when AAPC leaders looked at the journey ahead, they searched for “the right approach, the right curriculum, the right timing, and the right cost,” said Deborah Grider, CPC, CPC-I, CPC-H, CPC-P, COBGC, CEMC, CDERC, CCS-P. As AAPC vice president of strategic development and former National Advisory Board (NAB) president, she’ll guide us through the transition. Grider is a long-time Coding Edge ICD-10 contributor and author of such coding standards as AMA Press’ Coding with Modifiers, with a new book, Preparing for ICD-10-CM: Make the Transition Manageable being released by the AMA this month.

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Approximately 8,000 students and credentialed health care professionals will get the financial backing they need for training by the end of 2010. Read more »

Plan includes preparation, training and implementation guidance for payers and providers

In response to the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS’) final rule on the Oct. 1, 2013 implementation date for the new ICD-10-CM code system, the American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC, www.aapc.com) announces a comprehensive, five-year ICD-10-CM training plan. The plan, which launches in September, is designed to guide providers, payers and coders through the implementation process step by step. Read more »

Like you, the AAPC continues to await publication of the final rule by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) that will implement ICD-10-CM into the HIPAA mandated code set and establish the implementation date.

While there will need to be significant education and training for physicians, coders and other health care personnel to fully implement this major code change, no one needs to panic. Other organizations are already attempting to capitalize on the situation by suggesting that coders should begin training immediately. The AAPC does not believe such an approach is either necessary or prudent since it will likely be difficult to remember in three or four years what you were trained on today. It is important for you to know the AAPC has a plan in place to provide accurate and timely assistance to permit you to effectively implement ICD-10 on time. Read more »