CMS launches ICD-10-CM assistance site for small practices

CMS introduced a new web site specifically targeted at helping small physician practices with the transition to ICD-10-CM coding, which is still set to take place October 1. The agency announced the site at the recent HIMSS conference in Orlando, Fla.

The web site, located at www.roadto10.org., is not an objective look at the frustrations physician practices are facing with the ICD-10 transition, given the agency’s desire to push the transition.

It does, however, include templates practices can download and use that are focused on process and system inventory, technology vendor assessment, billing service assessment, clearinghouse assessment and payer assessment.

The templates, similar to the ones already in circulation, mainly give you a chance to get all of the relevant information related to that vendor or process in one place, assign internal lead people to the process and chart a roadmap of activities needed to be successful.

The site also has specialty-specific information for family practice, pediatrics, OB/GYN, cardiology, orthopedics, and internal medicine that includes what CMS believes to be the most common codes used by those specialties and primers and clinical scenarios customized for those specialties. General information is included for other specialties.

Physician practices can also build an action plan using the CMS tool, customized to practice size, number and type of vendors and specific planning, assessment, implementation and training timelines.