ICD-10 Is Coming…
Are You Ready?
ICD-10 Tools:
What does this mean for you?
CRT is going to start
providing more tools on
ICD-10-CM in the coming
months leading up to the
October 1st, 2014
deadline. These resources
will be found in:

E-mails sent to the
practice including
FAQ’s, links,
suggestions, and
updates

ICD-10 Newsletters

Every month CRT
will Sponsor 2
Webinars



The Monthly billing
bulletin will include
updates and pertinent
information
CRT Approved web
links to outside
sources
Along with these
tools, all of the
upcoming
information will be
archived on the CRT
Website
Our first recommended
link is the CMS (Center for
Medicare and Medicaid)
website. This site
provides a great starting
point towards learning
information purely
regarding ICD-10, this site
is:
CMS.gov/Medicare/Coding/ICD10
ICD-10 is closing in quickly, and preparation is critical in order to ensure that your cash flow
and reimbursements aren’t affected. Over the next 11 months CRT is going to provide you
and your staff with the necessary tools so you can conquer ICD-10 in its entirety. In the
meantime check out what tools CRT will be providing in the near future.
Why Is This Happening?
The change to ICD-10 is occurring because ICD-9 produces a limited data set in regards to
patient medical conditions and hospital inpatient procedures. ICD-9 is over 30 years old and
is filled with outdated terms, and is consequently inconsistent with current medical practices.
Also the current format limits the creation for new codes and many ICD-9 categories are full,
or are filling up quickly.
3 Basic Steps for Transitioning to ICD-10:
In order to transition to ICD-10 a few steps must be taken to facilitate a proactive and
smooth transition. The first step in this process is to develop an implementation strategy
which can assess the impact of ICD-10 on your practice and organization.
The next step in transitioning is to draft a detailed timeline for yourself and your staff. This
timeline will let your team know where they should be, and when. CRT will be providing a
general timeline in the coming weeks, but it is up to you to fill in the finite details; as no one
timeline has the ability to address every issue you may face.
The final step is to develop a budget for the process. A budget is an intricate part of this
procedure, planning and preparing for unexpected costs will help guarantee this transition
runs as flawlessly as possible.
A Quick Comparison of ICD-9 and ICD-10
ICD-9-CM Diagnosis Codes
ICD-10-CM Diagnosis Codes
•3-5 Characters in length
•3-7 Characters in length
•Approximately 14,000+ Codes
•Approximately 69,000+ codes
•First Digit may be alpha (E or V) or
numeric; digits 2-5 are numeric
•Digit 1 is alpha; digits 2 and 3 are
numeric; digits 4-7 are alpha or numeric
•Limited space for new codes
•Flexible for adding new codes
•Lacks detail
•Very specific
•Lacks laterality
•Has laterality
•Difficult to analyze data due to nonspecific codes
•Specificity improves coding accuracy, and
depth of data for analysis
•Codes are non-specific and don't
adequately define diagnoses needed for
medical research
•Detail improves the accuracy of data
used in medical research
•Does not support interoperability
because it is not used in other countries
•Supports interoperability and the
exchange of health care data between
other countries and the United States