ICD-10 Post Implementation: The Storm Is Not Over!

By Marco Mack, Project Manager of EDI, DFW Hospital Council Foundation

Now that ICD-10 is here, let’s all take a big sigh of relief. “Go-Live” was just the beginning. Even with the DFW Hospital Council Foundation’s (DFWHC Foundation) extensive preparation, implementation challenges are always a concern. Potential impacts include disruptions of operations, technological issues and maintaining new codes in the data warehouse. And the list could go on.

Don’t worry, the DFWHC Foundation’s incredible stakeholders and project team have effectively allocated the necessary resources while continuously monitoring the ICD-10 data within the data warehouse. As the elders profess, “always prepare for the worst and expect the best.”

Though we have not seen any substantial ICD-10 implementation issues, we’re still making internal tweaks and continuing to monitor the latest news and regulations.

The DFWHC recognizes the importance of each member hospital. Every data submitter played an instrumental role during the ICD-10 implementation and deserves a round of applause. From the preparation of test data to the monitoring of file errors, kudos to you!

The top two ICD-10 errors seen in CheckNet are the Principal ICD10 Diagnosis Code and Patient’s Reason for Visit ICD10 Code. Both errors will diminish once data submitters apply the appropriate ICD-10 codes to their data extracts. Please continue to monitor your reports once your data is loaded into the data submission tool.

All new edits listed in the THCIC Inpatient 5010 Technical Specifications Version 9 have been implemented in the data submission tool. There should be no more surprises regarding errors showing up in System 13 and not in CheckNet.

The DFWHC Foundation has a lot in store for our member hospitals in 2016 including the development of the ICD-10 Mapping Workgroup, EDI File Format Beta Testing and a CheckNet Webinar hosted by Databay.

We welcome your feedback and thank you for your continued support! For general questions and inquiries, please contact datahelp@dfwhcfoundation.org. You can also call Marco Mack, project manager of EDI, at 469-648-5021.