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EMR Systems and ICD-10 Commonly Asked Questions

Published Date
Author Aaron Stoklosa

 

Ophthalmology Management recently published an informative article asking electronic medical record (EMR) system vendors to answer a few commonly asked questions regarding their software’s solution to the upcoming ICD-10 transition. The more information you can learn from your vendor – or by comparing and contrasting vendors if you’re still on the hunt for a new system – the better prepared you will be on October 1. Some surprises make for a fun time, but not when it comes to your practice’s efficiency and bottom line.

Below is some additional information about the ICD-10 functionality in Modernizing Medicine’s Electronic Medical Assistant ® (EMA™) for all specialties, including EMA Ophthalmology®.

1. Do you have an ICD-10 lookup available for doctors inside the medical record?

A manual ICD-10 lookup is not necessary, because EMA Ophthalmology by Modernizing Medicine collects structured data using touch-and-type functionality on an iPad or desktop. Users can zoom in and out of the interactive 3D EMA Anatomical Atlas™ to touch on the areas of the eye in question. This structured data generates ICD-10 codes right along with exam notes and populates them onto the superbill. The data captures the necessary level of granularity, specificity and laterality. No lookup required.

2. Do you offer General Equivalence Mappings (GEMS) functionality to match ICD-9 to ICD-10 and vice versa?

Within EMA Ophthalmology, all ICD-10 functionality is built in – not bolted on – and codes are generated automatically, so there is no need for GEMS.

3. Do the findings in the medical record suggest possible ICD-10 codes for the patient?

While other electronic health records (EHR) systems tout their ability to translate or somewhat narrow the number of ICD-10 codes to select from, EMA Ophthalmology is born ready using structured data enabling the algorithm to generate ICD-10 codes from the diagnosis. It’s automatic. No need to review long lists of codes.

4. Does the medical record translate the prior list of ICD-9 codes to ICD-10 codes for each patient?

Because EMA Ophthalmology automatically generates ICD-10 codes for any given diagnosis, translation is not required. ICD-10 codes are simultaneously assigned when providers create exam notes – the structured data ensures that entering patient information once decreases manual entry and helps increase accuracy. No need for translation tools.

a. Can this translation combine multiple ICD-9 codes into a single ICD-10 code where applicable? Yes

b. Can the translation relate and ICD-9 with a modifier (example: RT, LT) to a specific ICD-10 code? Yes

5. Do you feel your system is full tested and ready to handle the ICD-10 deadline?

Yes. EMA Ophthalmology was born ready for ICD-10 and would have met the original transition date.

6. Would you like to share anything else about your ICD-10 functionality?

With EMA Ophthalmology there’s no guesswork. No translations. No worry of rejected claims. Just tap, touch and done. ICD-10 will be that simple.

 

Jonathan Criss, MD, is the Medical Director of EMA Ophthalmology at Modernizing Medicine.