In a series of industry reactions to Congress passing H.R.2, ICD10Monitor.com asked industry leaders to give their reactions on the news that ICD-10 will not be delayed, and there will be no pay cuts to physicians. The industry leaders were also asked to provide insight into where they stand with ICD-10 implementation.
"While we are pleased with the progress not only with ICD-10 but also the SGR (sustainable growth rate), we need to keep in mind (that) there is no victory until after implementation, when we know our doctors are still getting paid," AAPC's vice president of ICD-10 training and education, Rhonda Buckholtz, told Talk-Ten-Tuesdays on ICD10Monitor.com. "We won't know that until probably Nov. 1, not Oct. 1. We must work to continue to show our providers that quality documentation is important moving forward, no matter what the code set is."
Currently, about 30 percent of AAPC's members still need to be caught up on ICD-10, according to the report.
The American Hospital Association's Nelly Leon-Chisen also had supportive words regarding ICD-10 coding education.
Ms. Leon-Chisen explained the office coding clearinghouse service to ICD10Monitor.com, which provides "direct advice based on established, published resources… Anything that needs additional clarification, or has not been addressed before, is referred to the Coding Clinic Editorial Advisory Board for discussion and development of a consensus opinion."
"We also offer free coding webinars, live as well as … on demand on our website, including a couple on the Best of Coding Clinic," said Ms. Leon-Chisen in ICD10Monitor.com. "For the remainder of the year, we plan on (hosting) two more programs highlighting additional Coding Clinic advice, and a final one in December — post-ICD-10 implementation — on a topic to be chosen by participants."