Health Information Management

News: JATA survey shows additional education needed to meet ICD-10 implementation needs

CDI Strategies, June 23, 2011

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J.A. Thomas and Associates (JATA) says nearly a quarter of healthcare facilities are not “currently taking steps toward ICD-10 transition” according to survey results released earlier this month. The survey garnered responses from nearly 400 healthcare professionals of various backgrounds from physicians and nurses to CDI specialists and coders.

ICD-10 implementation, set for October 1, 2013, means major changes in coding rules, terminology, and technological data processing of healthcare data. “Providers face both the prospect of productivity losses, and possibly, nonpayment since providers are evaluated—and paid—based on reported patient data and the care they receive,” the executive summary of the results states.
 
The survey results indicate that 71% of respondents have an ICD-10 Task Force in place but only half of the survey respondents have invested in staff training.
 
The report calls on hospitals to prioritize physician training and awareness “sooner rather than later.” 
"Training efforts, to-date, have fallen squarely on coders,” said Mel Tully, MSN, CCDS, Senior VP of Clinical Services and Education for JATA, in the report. “Now, we need to see hospitals push this training to physicians and clinical documentation specialists. Effective clinical documentation and coding accuracy happens when coders work in concert with the clinical team."



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