If you’re a proponent of the old, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” mentality, you might be a little reluctant to buy into all of this ICD-10 business. After all, you use ICD-9 now, and that seems to be working just fine. So why rock the boat?
There’s no shortage of drawbacks to ICD-9. Chief among them: it’s 34 years old. Take a moment and think about the healthcare landscape 34 years ago. (Hint: People could still smoke in hospitals. Not a good sign.)
In addition to being old and outdated, ICD-9:
- Isn’t detailed enough to describe patient diagnoses and modern medical services and procedures
- Uses antiquated terminology
- Produces incorrect, limited patient data
So, what about ICD-10 makes it so much better than ICD-9? Well, for starters, it has way more diagnosis codes about 68,000 to ICD-9’s 13,000 and in this case, more is definitely better. Why? Because with more codes, medical providers including rehab therapists can more accurately document clinical information, including patient diagnoses. And, as CMS points out, that leads to:
- Greater opportunity for evidence-based practice
- Better insight for optimizing grouping and reimbursement processes
- Less burden on clinicians to provide detailed supporting documentation.
Sure, the transition will be tough. No one’s arguing with that. But, to continue with the quotable cliché theme of this post, “No pain, no gain.” It’s our responsibility to propel the healthcare industry forward, and ICD-10 is a very important step in that process. So, stop clinging to ICD-9 it belongs in the past, along with eight-tracks and leisure suits and start embracing the future.
