ICD-101: There's no reason ICD-10 education cannot start now

Developing a plan to train and educate staff for the ICD-10 transition is as important as upgrading systems and equipment.

While you are working on an ICD-10 training plan, Sue Belley and Donna Smith say you can  start educating physicians on how to work with ICD-10 coding now. Clinical documentation improvement (CDI) programs can use ICD-10 queries to prepare physicians immediately. It will teach them how much specificity is needed in their documentation.Maybe you can start with musculoskeletal codes:

• Documentation will need improvement for ICD-10-CM musculoskeletal system coding: Laterality and specific location of injuries account for much of the increase in documentation. (ICD-10 Trainer)

• Spinal fusion guidelines for ICD-10-PCS: It's about specific body parts. (ICD-10 Trainer)

This is a weekly feature that I use to highlight practical tips on how to use and understand ICD-10-CM/PCS codes. Please let me know of any other sources that I can include.