Posted By Giovanna Stahl
Global medical coding companies must keep up with industry technological and regulatory changes, and the recent announcement of ICD-11 is another change that we must adapt our processes to meet. But before we get into what the ICD-11 changes mean for medical coding companies, let’s remind ourselves of the purpose of ICD, and how essential it is to global medical coding. ICD, or the International Classification of Diseases, is a tool for reporting and grouping conditions and factors that influence health. The purpose of ICD is to allow for a standardized and systematic recording, analysis, interpretation, and comparison of medical data collected. Most useful to medical coders, ICD is used to translate diagnoses into alphanumeric codes which permit storage, retrieval, and analysis. Whenever the ICD is revised and updated, it means that global medical coding companies like ECLAT Health Solutions must take necessary measures to comply with its new structural changes.
Training
According to World Health Organization’s (WHO) recent release, some major structural changes are set to be implemented under ICD-11. One of the key revisions is meant to simplify coding structure and electronic tooling, which is meant to allow health care professionals to more accurately record conditions. This means that for global medical coding services, this new and simplified coding structure must be comprehensively understood by its professionals. Extensive training, research, and practice are all required for medical coding companies to ensure that coding quality and accuracy will not be lost amidst the ICD-11 transition. Also, the code structure itself is projected to be updated, so what many medical coders knew like the back of their hands will now need to be re-learned.
No need to panic
The preview of the ICD-11 transition, which is set to be released for adoption by member states of the WHO in May 2019, may seem like a daunting announcement to some. Medical coding companies and health care professionals as a whole have become so accustomed to ICD-10, that the thought of drastic system and structural changes involved in ICD-11 may cause stress and insecurity. However, NO NEED TO PANIC! ICD-11 is an exciting announcement, as it marks innovation and forward-thinking in the world of disease classification. A lot has changed since ICD-10 was introduced, and the way we view certain diseases and disorders should evolve as well. Like with any new piece of technology or information, there is always a learning curve, however, the light at the end of the tunnel is brighter than ever, the health information management world will continue to improve its practices to promote patient transparency and reduce unnecessary hospital costs.
ECLAT Health Solutions is Ready for ICD-11
ICD-11 goes into effect on January 1, 2022. The World Health Organization offices are still working on a global implementation plan to do this, and our team will be standing by to respond and take action to update our medical coding processes as necessary when the plan and the final release are announced. As a leading global medical coding solution, ECLAT Health Solutions is looking forward to ICD-11 and the impressive impact it will have on health care and how we classify diseases, disorders, and other health issues. To learn about the ECLAT Advantage, and what sets our medical coding company apart from others, contact us today!
Tags: Coding, HIM, International Coding, Medical Coding, News
