Transitioning to ICD-10-CM/PCS—An Academic Timeline

CHICAGO, April 9, 2009—The impending conversion to ICD-10-CM and ICD-10-PCS on October 1, 2013, affects every aspect of the American healthcare industry, including the education of the future health information management work force. After 30 years, the US will discontinue using ICD-9-CM for the classification of mortality and morbidity data so educational institutions must transition their academic programs to prepare for the change.  A timeline of when and how schools should start implementing ICD-10-CM/PCS into their curriculum is provided in a practice brief in the April issue of the Journal of AHIMA.

This article explains that educators will be among the first in the country to be trained on the new coding system to ensure that students graduating in 2013 are prepared to pass their credentialing exam and enter the work force as qualified ICD-10-CM/PCS employees.

Transitioning to ICD-10-CM/PCS—An Academic Timeline describes how academic programs can incorporate ICD-10 into their curriculum by using a three-phase approach to break down the transition:

• Preparation- Starts with the August 2009 academic school year to consider the impact of the transition and begin to formulate plans.
• Hybrid-Begins in the August 2010 school year because educators will face the challenge of incorporating both coding systems into an already full academic schedule.
• Full Implementation-Starts with the August 2011 academic year for associate and baccalaureate degree programs. This is the final stage of the curriculum change with ICD-10-CM/PCS being taught as the current classification system.

 Additionally, this article illustrates a detailed educational timeline and an implementation timeline for ICD-10-CM/PCS and related HIPAA transaction standards. Also included is a “Readiness Checklist” that summarizes considerations academic institutions should use during the preparation phase.

Read the complete article in the April issue of the Journal of AHIMA or online at journal.ahima.org.

About AHIMA

The American Health Information Management Association is America’s leading professional society whose mission is to “improve healthcare by advancing best practices and standards for health information management and [serve as] the trusted source for education, research and professional credentialing.” AHIMA represents more than 53,000 specially educated HIM professionals who serve healthcare and the public by managing, analyzing and utilizing data vital for health system management. www.ahima.org