The next time you see your M.D you may notice a change in his demeanor. You see, on October 1st 2015 HHS'deadline for using the new ICD code passed.
As he gazes wistfully (remembering his love of the progress note and pen) at his EHR screen (instead of you) he will use another 10 seconds finding the correct code. No matter the computer does most of the work,,the physician now has to peruse over 60,000 codes instead of 14,000, select the correct one and link it to the CPT (current procedural) in order to be paid.
I feel much safer now that SeaWorld is shutting down it's live show. However for those of you who swim in Puget Sound or off the left coast, beware, there may be a code for that.
Much of the ICD 10 codes are used by medical departments of the department of defense. I know, I used it about five years ago as a private contractor ophthalmologist. I was in the process of learning how to use ALTA, then the lynch pin EHR for Army Medicine.
My findings agree with all physician's opinions about electronic medical records. I had the advantage of having used EHR before, and there was also a 2 day course in a computer training lab. That helped somewhat, however my patient load was limited to five in the morning and five in the afternoon. My normal patient schedule in private practice was about 40/day. Even after training and use my max load wasabout 30/day, and I was hard pressed to accomplish that number.
At times I would be forced to pick a cause blindly or use one that I could find easily. I never found out if that was a real issue, or not. The codes were probably analyzed by another program for accuracy, but I never knew. Perhaps someone now will find out if it really matters when they receive a denal for payment from Medicare., or some other payer.
For me it no longer matters, I am finished with clinical medicine...It's up to the next generation to untangle the monster that has been created.
I could never understand why M.D.s would give advice to congress when congress never listens to experts in their field. I did it for many years, and eventually decided I should spend more time with my family. The same pertained to CME (I started doing it all on line about 10 years ago), recertification and medical meetings.
I noted the American Board of Anesthesia will no longer require MOC or recertification. (It seems Anesthesia will be administered by a robotic anesthesia machine. Perhaps this is the initial offense against bureaucrats.
Good luck to our new healthcare system. I hope you can fix up what we screwed up despite 30 or more years of resistance.
As the Borg say "RESISTANCE IS FUTILE'
Roughed Up by an Orca? There’s a Code for That - NYTimes.com
