Distracted By Changes? Keep Your Eye On ICD 10 Coding And You Won’t Miss Out On Dollars You Deserve.

When we are asked to look at agencies dealing with financial concerns, we consistently see ICD 10 coding issues contributing to it. Look, things keep getting thrown at us as an industry and that is not going to stop. Therefore, we can’t minimize the power of proper coding.  Let’s look at some of the things that we see in agencies.

5 Common ICD 10 Coding Mistakes:

So, agencies often look at cutting costs by way of staffing before they consider coding as a potential issue. So, before you make drastic changes, consider these 5 things:

• Don’t Let Coding Take A Back Seat: As we are still dealing with the effects of the pandemic, we have other things that take up our time and minds. Right now, we are dealing with more regulation changes, expansion of Value-Based Purchasing, EVV, staffing issues, Review Choice Demonstration, and increased costs to provide services. It is not surprising that we are distracted from the importance of ICD 10 accuracy. Here’s the thing; it can’t take a back seat. Poor coding costs you money and puts you potentially at risk.
• Coders Aren’t Certified In Coding AND Oasis: The 2 quite simply must go together in order to provide accurate coding. ICD 10 Coding goes hand-in-hand with Oasis. Having certification in one without the other doesn’t give you the best result.
• Coders Serve Multiple Roles: Many agencies have coders who also serve as office assistants or other roles within the office. In these cases, we find coding is not done with accuracy and tends to take a back seat to other tasks. Therefore, this individual often doesn’t keep up with coding changes as the occur. Again this costs you money.
• Agencies Don’t Consider Outsourcing: When agencies have non-certified coders, it is because they don’t want to invest the money or think they don’t need it because the Medicare patient load is small.  This is a mistake. Our personal experience shows that without certified skilled coding, you lose $500-$1000- per episode.  Agencies need to consider outsourcing to make sure they get the dollars they deserve. Outsourcing is a cost-effective way to get quality coding especially when your agency cannot afford someone full time for the job.
• There Is No Back-Up For Coding: We see agencies don’t often have a back-up in place for their current ICD 10 coders. This results in agencies winging it until the coder is replaced or returns from an extended absence. Again, you can’t afford to drop back 10 and punt at these times. You need to have a plan in place so you don’t lose revenue or time in getting 485’s out for signature. Having a back-up plan is good business anyways!

Ultimately, in spite of everything going on, you can’t be distracted from the importance of proper Oasis scoring and ICD 10 Coding. At Kenyon Homecare Consulting, we provide both services. We can be your coding and oasis outsource solution or your back-up plan during vacations or absences. Our agency will complete 5 free recode of current ICD 10 charts to see if you are on the right coding track! Call us today at 206-721-5091 or contact us online today!

Peek Consulting received permission to re-post this blog. We realize how many out there do not have ideal systems in place for proper ICD 10 coding. All agencies should consider a check and balance system of their current coding solution. This will determine if you are getting the dollars you deserve.