• The updates to ICD-10 will impact CMS's ability to process data reported on certain quality measures for the 4th quarter of the 2016 calendar year.
• One of the Certified Medical Scribe Specialists core responsibilities is to capture accurate and detailed documentation of the physician/mid-level encounter and increase clinical workflow efficiencies, creating time and space for clinicians to appropriately care for patients.

On October 1, the flexibility of ICD-10 implementation ended. In addition, approximately 1,900 new ICD-10-CM codes have been proposed for 2017. Providers will now be required to code accurately to reflect the clinical documentation in as much specificity as possible. Errors may lead to delayed or denied claims, which ultimately will hurt your profit margins. CAP’s next webinar – A Successful Path to ICD-10: One Year Later – will help ensure your payments will not be interrupted. 

The deadline for implementing ICD-10 is quickly approaching. Providers and practices should be preparing for the transition and approaching the implementation with confidence. Even though on July 6, 2015, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced a one-year grace period for ICD-10, it did not delay the implementation. 

Health care providers need to create an ICD-10 training plan now that prepares all staff members — not just the medical coders.

Transitioning successfully to the new ICD-10-CM code set will be particularly important for primary care physicians. Here are some diagnoses to which primary care providers should pay close attention.