Looking Back at Version 5010 and Ahead to ICD-10

Last year all practices covered by HIPAA were required to upgrade from Version 4010 to Version 5010 standards for electronic health care claims and other transactions.

The Version 5010 upgrade paved the way for ICD-10 and offers valuable insights:

1. Early planning and preparation will smooth your transition to ICD-10. Practices that planned for the Version 5010 upgrade were well prepared and transitioned smoothly. For ICD-10, your office can start planning by developing a checklist of activities that will need to be completed and a timeline for accomplishing these tasks.
    
2. Communication and coordination must occur not only in your office, but also between your practice and the trading partners you conduct business with – software vendors, clearinghouses and billing companies, commercial and government health plans and other payers.
   
3. Risk mitigation is important to address any disruptions that may occur as your practice transitions to ICD-10. You may want to consider planning for possible short-term cash flow disruptions and for securing the services of billing companies or clearinghouses.
   
4. Testing will need to be conducted within your office and with all payers and other companies you work with. You will need to begin ICD-10 testing in 2013 to allow for ample time to test multiple types of transactions, including claims. Share your ICD-10 plans with one another now to ensure you are on track to test at the same time.

If you conduct electronic transactions and have not made the upgrade to Version 5010 standards, get a compliance plan in place right away.

You must use Version 5010 standards before your practice management or billing system can accommodate the structure of ICD-10 codes.