Fastrack ICD10 Planning

By: Jose Nebro 

As everyone is aware, the Healthcare industry is adopting a new coding methodology for diagnosis and procedures.  The current version of this coding is called ICD9; the new version is called ICD10.  Following are some of the significant dates:

• October 1, 2013 – Compliance date for implementation of ICD-10-CM (diagnosis) and ICD-10-PCS (Procedures)

• ICD-9-CM codes will not be accepted for services provided on or after October 1, 2013

• ICD-10 code will not be accepted for services prior to October 1, 2013

• Last regular, annual updates to both ICD-9 and ICD-10 will be made on October 1, 2011

• On October 1, 2012, there will be only limited code updates to both codes sets

• On October 1, 2013, there will be only a limited code update to ICD-10 codes to capture new technology and new diseases

• There will be no updates to ICD-9 on October 1, 2013 and they will no longer be a HIPAA standard

• On October 1, 2014, regular updates  to ICD-10 will begin

Fastrack has looked at all these dates and information released by CMS and has created a plan for implementation.  We have made an assessment of the impact and realized that for a period of time we will have to support both code sets.  In order to do so we will be introducing new tables to house these codes, as well as adding new columns to some of the existing tables.

Fastrack has determined all the areas in the system where we will have to make modifications to accommodate these codes as well as areas where the logic will have to be adjusted.

Fastrack plans to provide tools within the software to implement a crosswalk implementing the GEM (General Equivalency Mapping). Automatic mappings will be made where possible.  As we all know many ICD-9 codes do not have a one-to-one mapping since the ICD-10 codes are more specific.  Whereever possible we will provide the translation available, where it is not, we will provide the users the ability to make those decisions.

The mapping being made available will be forward (ICD-9 to ICD-10) and backward (ICD-10 to ICD-9).

Fastrack will add the crosswalk native into the Fastrack Enterprise applications.

Our Timeline is as follows:

Internal development and testing 1st Quarter of 2012, ending on the 2nd Quarter of 2012

Beta testing to begin on the 3rd Quarter of 2012, ending on the 4th Quarter of 2012

Publishing the release of the software towards the end of the 4th Quarter of 2012

The Fastrack clients will not need any special hardware or infrastructure in order to implement this.

Fastrack will make online courses available on the implementation of this feature free of charge to the Fastrack clients.

There will be no additional charges to Fastrack clients to implement this update as long as the client is in good standing.