Collaborating Toward ICD-10 Compliance: 10 Ideas

A little collaboration could go a long way toward helping providers and payers work through some of the more challenging aspects of their ICD-10 implementations. This collaboration might originate through vendor organizations, user groups, local chapters of HIMSS or AHIMA associations and/or other mechanisms.

While some providers and payers may feel that a collaborative relationship with their peers and competitors might put them at a competitive disadvantage or expose weaknesses, I believe there are some opportunities for organizations that take a collaborative approach to their ICD-10 implementation.

The following are some areas of opportunity where a collaborative association of two or more organizations working on the ICD-10 mandate may well benefit: 

1. Identify tools that could be built or purchased and made available to group
2. Identify services for which the group might negotiate pricing for their common benefit
3. Share Lessons Learned 
4. Discuss provider outreach strategies
5. Collaborate on and share education and training plans/ materials
6. Share staff training strategies
7. Develop a list of vendors each participant is using or may use and discuss strategies for vendor interaction, negotiation and compliance
8. Share general remediation approaches for databases, logic/processes and reporting
9. Identify criteria for validating GEMs, reimbursement maps and development of purpose-built maps
10. Share testing strategies 

Keep in mind that collaboration does not have to be time-consuming or create risks for participants – nor does it have to be a permanent arrangement. Try it, you may like it.