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Monday, March 14, 2016

By Fred Locker


The healthcare industry is talking about coding in ICD-10 right now. It is a tough topic to talk about since it is so new. Most physicians and healthcare providers do not understand how ICD-10 works. It is complicated for people that know and understand ICD-9 and it becomes even more complicated when talking about ICD-10. It is a situation in which many people are asking questions. If you have a medical billing company and are outsourcing your work, how should you address clients that call you and say, "Why doesn't this particular code work?" This is a common question that is asked by both experts and non-experts alike.

There was a major shift that took place in medical billing around 6 months ago. Insurance companies started to wise up to fraudulent practices of medical offices. The entire insurance and billing industry has been in a shift for the past several months. It is important to understand that ICD-10 was in the works for several years before it got released. By the time it got released, coders were expected to already have their ICD-10 certification. Many coders thought that they could just get their certification when the codes got released. This was a huge mistake. It can take six months or more to learn how to work with this new coding system.

In reality, medical billing is a complex topic overall. Many men and women want to know what the future holds. Most experienced coders will say that billing is only going to get tougher. If you have a client that is asking you lots of questions about ICD-10, tell them that you are working on their practice and will inform them and update them with any changes. As a courtesy, it is also a good idea to answer 1 or 2 questions that they may have. Even though it might get annoying, you will have a happy customer at the end of the day. If it gets to repetitive, then just tell them that you are extremely busy working on their claims and have to go. This often lets your client know that you are too busy to talk. This happens from time to time.

The energy around this is that there is a lot going on behind the scenes. There is a lot that must be addressed for a client's billing to work out properly. As each day passes, billers are learning how to do ICD-10 coding more precisely. It is important to have everything put together in a way that makes sense. In the end, customers always want to see increased revenue. Revenue is always reimbursed when you least expect. Everything seems to come around for the better. Everything begins to move forward in a way that makes sense to both physicians and billers.

When you first retain your clients, it is important that you let them know what you will do for them and not do. Clients are often more prone to asking questions in order to receive answers. If you have a small office and cannot take calls because of your pressed time schedule, it is important to put it in writing. Once a contract is drawn between you and the client, it is necessary to stick to it. Clients will often understand if something is in writing rather than in words.




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