Here are six points:
1. Some medical professional have purchased lines of credit because they feel the transition will cause financial problems.
2. The updated codes call for physicians to be much more specific. ICD-10 has more than 100 codes for gout and more than 200 codes for diabetes.
3. Patients may need to undergo more testing to ensure the physician is being as specific as possible when coding. For example, a physician will need to specify if a patient with high blood pressure could also have heart failure.
4. Various healthcare providers are hiring coders, with some healthcare facilities spending millions in preparation for the ICD-10 deadline.
5. While healthcare professionals can revise and resubmit claims, this process make take a substantial amount of time and could ultimately delay reimbursement.
6. The specificity of the codes will allow insurers and federal officials to better measure the results of treatment and quality of care. This will ultimately determine reimbursement rates.
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