Tag: ICD-10 implementation

Healthcare in 2014: Three Opportunities on the Horizon

Jon Zimmerman
Jon Zimmerman

Guest post by Jonathan Zimmerman vice president and general manager, Clinical Business Solutions, GE Healthcare IT.

With key deadlines looming, 2014 will be a critical year for the healthcare industry, one marked by important industry milestones and advances. As ICD-10 implementation and meaningful use Stage 2 attestation approach, many are saying we have reached healthcare’s tipping point – where first of its kind opportunities for collaboration and innovation intersect with challenging regulatory standards and population health demands. In order to better facilitate these updates and solve potential market challenges, healthcare providers will need to blend innovative technological solutions with current operational systems.

As the industry evolves, we anticipate three key opportunities for 2014.

#1: Smarter Collaborations

New industry partnerships and alliances are being created to collectively address standardization and implementation. Healthcare IT organizations are working to adopt common standards and protocols to provide sustainable, cost-effective, trusted access to patient data. Payers and providers are coming together to ensure healthcare providers are setup up for success. Regulatory agencies, manufacturers and providers are working diligently to approve more devices, streamline communications and update payment codes in time for ICD-10 implementation. We are also seeing CIOs/CTOs work closer than ever before with physicians in order to reap the benefits of incentive driven initiatives like meaningful use Stage 2.

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Tips and Tactics for Tackling ICD-10 Implementation

Jahn
Jahn

Guest post by Mark Jahn, vice president, healthcare practice, Atrilogy Solutions Group

Will your healthcare organization be ready for the Oct. 1, 2014, ICD-10 implementation date, as mandated by the Department of Health & Human Services? By now, most organizations should be in the middle of their ICD-10 implementation, or at least nearing the end of their assessment and planning.

Based on my ICD-10 industry knowledge, here are aspects of implementation your organization can expect to experience.

Where is my ICD-10 budget?

Many organizations will struggle to gain the right level of budget to make the ICD-10 transition successful. Most will likely have one budget cycle remaining, at most, before the ICD-10 go-live date. You’ll likely have to compete with other initiatives to secure funding.

However, what many organizations fail to realize is that 100 percent of their patient-related revenues are at risk if ICD-10 is not properly implemented and its risks mitigated. As a result, most organizations will not have budgeted enough for ICD-10 and did not allocate enough contingency to account for the unknowns of implementation.

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