The deadline for hospitals and practices to switch to ICD-10 is less than a month away. In preparation for the big transition, ICDLogic has introduced its Rapid Readiness platform, which may help clinicians to document and code ICD-10 in less than an hour.

A study conducted by Porter Research in August found that 57 percent of the respondents were not on track to change to ICD-10 by October 1. Over 94 percent of them are expecting an increase in payment denials because they believe they will assign reimbursement codes incorrectly, but only 30 percent have started to improve their denial processes.

"Clinicians don't have the time to learn and master the complexity of ICD-10," Monique Fayad, CEO of ICDLogic, said in a statement. "They should not have to be distracted by becoming coding experts in order to get paid for their services. The software should do the coding.”

The Rapid Readiness platform includes short video tutorials and a "getting started" guide in its cloud-based Cypher software. It automatically generates the most specific ICD-10 codes based on the facility’s medical specialty, and helps clinicians document comprehensively.

The transition to ICD-10 has been delayed three times to date — the deadline was most recently supposed to be October 2013, but it was moved to October 1, 2015. Back in February, physician associations in New York and Texas were encouraging their members to press Congress to push the transition to October 2017 because they could not afford the cost and disruption of implementation.

But solutions like Rapid Readiness take the burden off the clinicians and streamline the process. “Cypher minimizes queries and provides protection against denials, so clinicians can spend more time with patients and less time protecting cash flow," Fayad said in a statement. "Doctors and nurses are entitled to swift reimbursement for the wonderful care they deliver, without having to become coding experts.”

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