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& physical forms, HIPAA disclosure/restriction forms and anesthesia
records are in compliance with ICD-10. If this task seems overwhelming
for your current staffing levels, consider a freelancer to help update all
forms.
Get some help
We know that ICD-10 will likely slow down productivity. If you
have any doubt whether your staff can sufficiently handle expected
ICD-10 workloads, start looking for external help now. That can be
hiring an extra hand to work in-house during the transition, adding a
consultant to help out during the transition or moving some of your
cases to third-party coders. Don't wait until it's too late to ask for a lit-
tle help.
This too shall pass
ICD-10 is coming, whether you're prepared or not. If you start now by
following the above advice, I can't guarantee that you'll make it to
November without a few bumps and bruises — but at least you won't
be run over. OSM
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C O D I N G & B I L L I N G
Mr. Sisko (shimcode@gmail.com) has worked in the healthcare space for more than 20 years. He's cur-
rently a project manager working for a large healthcare payer in the Pacific Northwest. Steve blogs regularly
about healthcare and information technology topics at shimcode.com. He's also active on Twitter as
@ShimCode.