WHY SOMEONE SHOULD ATTEND HCAF’s 2014 ANNUAL CONFERENCE AND TRADE SHOW:
Don’t miss Jennifer Warfield’s presentation, “Celebrating ICD-10: A New Tradition of Codes,” and learn how to maximize the extra ICD-10 preparation time for the survival of your agency.
The Senate’s recent vote to delay ICD-10 has taken the home health industry by storm and shock. With a new implementation date of Oct. 1, 2015, administrators, directors, CEOs and nurses now have been given a second chance to ensure their agency survives the transition. As we continue forward, it’s important for agencies to rethink their “preparation” game plan. This additional training time should not go to waste. ICD-10 cannot be delayed forever and should be viewed as a postponement, not an end.
Although agencies have spent countless hours, dollars and energy in proper preparation for the 2014 implementation and despite the delay, it is important to keep staff members up to date with continued ICD-10 education. This delay will allow coders (both seasoned and novices) more time to prepare, review processes and decide which training method will be the most effective. Keep in mind that coding correctly has more use and benefits than just getting the diagnoses correct on the OASIS. Correct codes are essential for accurate documentation and risk adjustment. Additionally, codes are used universally for data collection, research and developing best practices.
On-site and online ICD-10 training has become a significant source of education for numerous home health professionals nationwide. Most professionals who attend ICD-10 training courses, learn about the numerous, significant differences between ICD-10 and ICD-9 and fully understand how long it will take to become proficient in ICD-10 coding. Even the most seasoned ICD-9 coders have concerns and are glad that they started training early. These early trainees can attest to the fact that when considering that the new code set will now consist of approximately 70,000 codes, as opposed to the current 14,000 codes, finding the correct one will understandably require more time.
Now is the time to get your agency on the right track with proper preparation and education. There are many routes that agencies can take to assure that they are properly prepared for ICD-10, such as online educational webinars or a private on-site workshop. As PPS Plus Software’s education director, I have been crisscrossing the country, conducting ICD-10 training sessions for home health agencies and associations nationwide. Additionally, I am over halfway through a 9-part ICD-10 webinar series that I am conducting for PPS Plus Software, which began this past January and will wrap up in September of this year. To register for my next ICD-10 webinar, please do so by clicking here. Additionally, if you would like to request a private webinar or on-site workshop, please fill out the education request form here.
When we are finally given the green light to implement ICD-10, we can transition into ICD-10 with confidence, knowing we have utilized all the available educational resources to properly educate ourselves and become ICD-10 experts.
If you would like to learn how PPS Plus Software’s OASIS analysis software and team of coding experts can help you with ICD-9 and prepare for ICD-10, please call (888) 897-9136 or info@ppsplus.com. You can also visit PPS Plus Software’s website at www.ppsplus.com.
Registration for HCAF’s 2014 Annual Conference and Trade Show is open! Register today to attend great presentations from Jennifer Warfield and many other nationally recognized home care experts. Click here to go to our 2014 Conference Website
About PPS Plus Software
Find OASIS errors and clinical inconsistencies quickly and easily with PPS Plus Software’s industry-leading OASIS analysis software, featuring thousands of alerts to help you achieve clinical and financial accuracy. PPS Plus Software also offers exceptional benchmarking services, education and consulting services, coding and OASIS review services, as well as HHCAHPS services by Deyta.
©2014 Jennifer Warfield. All rights reserved.
No portion of this material may be reproduced in any form without the advance written permission of the author.
