Collaboration can ease the ICD-10 transition
The ICD-10 transition is a wonderful opportunity for collaboration. More accurately, collaboration is a necessity.
ICD-10 is a challenge that requires a great deal of changes. And it's going to take more than hiring a lot of healthcare vendors and consultants. They don't know everything.
Here's the beauty of our healthcare industry. Someone has already made the mistake you're about to make. You can try to find those mistakes and learnings through social media. But separating the signal from noise will be tough.
Healthcare providers can learn much more through ICD-10 collaboratives: Some of the benefits of ICD-10 collaboratives include:
- Open lines of communication.
- Address risks collectively.
- Avoid duplication of effort.
- Align schedules and timelines.
- Negotiate better rates.
- Support for small healthcare providers.
- Leverage benefits of the ICD-10 code sets.
- Problem resolution.
Note that healthcare payers have a large role in ICD-10 collaboratives. By helping small and large healthcare payers, they help preserve their business model.
And collaboratives aren't the only way healthcare payers are helping providers.
Philadelphia-based Independence Blue Cross helps healthcare providers prepare for ICD-10 implementation:
- "What's Up Wednesday" is a conference call for area providers
- An ICD-10 testing program works with the area's largest healthcare providers
The testing program is going to be the biggest help to healthcare providers even if it can't test with all of them. What large-scale testing healthcare providers can manage will provide learnings it can share with all healthcare providers.
That knowledge will help healthcare providers who can't get external ICD-10 testing coordinated with all their health plans and payers.
