Doctor's Life Magazine, Tampa Bay Doctor's Life Tampa Bay Vol. 2 Issue 1, 2014 | Page 16

ICD-10:
Where will you be
on October 1st?
C

By Cortnie R. Simmons
MHA, RHIA, CCS, CDIP, AHIMA Approved ICD-10
Trainer and Director of ICD-10 Services and Business
Development at Kforce Healthcare

lose your eyes and imagine it is October 1, 2014 and you are
laying on a sandy beach in Kauai, Hawaii. There is a beautiful
breeze and sunset. The ocean is calm with a beautiful shade of blue.
Can you imagine it? Can you imagine that also on this date there is
a plan for a new coding system? A system that is going to provide
the ability to collect date and report better quality diagnoses and
procedure codes for patient care? Can you imagine that this system
will allow codes that are specific in detail and that provide significant
information about diagnoses like acuity, laterality, and specificity?
A system that will provide you with details that allow one code to
provide you information about the body system, body part, intent of
procedure, the approach, and the use of devices. Can you imagine
a system that will replace a 35 plus year outdated and nonspecific
structure. Are you imagining it? A system that is anticipated to collect
better data and align with other systems across the world. I am not
sure if you can imagine it but I can and on October 1, 2014 it will
be a reality. This date is set to be the anticipated date for healthcare
organizations across the country to implement ICD-10.

16

Doctor’s Life Tampa Bay

Issue 1, 2014