The toughest part of implementing ICD-10 is expected to be a short-term decrease in cash flow for even the most prepared healthcare organizations. CMS officials recommend that healthcare organizations budget for up to a 40 percent increase in outstanding payments. 

The long-term effects of the implementation, however, pose an even greater risk to the financial health of the organization. The risk that ICD-10 related changes in documentation, coding, grouping, and fee schedules could undermine the long-term financial health of your facility is too great to ignore.

We’ve published an updated guide that digs into the long-term risks and provides the information required to understand and address the risks now, so you can protect your revenue for the long term.

The guide covers the process for answering four important questions.

1. Is my current documentation sufficient to derive revenue neutral coding?
2. Is my coding sufficient to produce revenue neutral DRGs?
3. Does the DRG assignment of my visits change under ICD-10?
4. Do my proposed payer reimbursement rates for ICD-10 affect my bottom line?

Download the guide for recommendations on how to answer these questions and assess your financial position.

 This post was originally published on January 30, 2014 and has been updated and republished in light of the ICD-10 delay to October 1, 2015.