In the weeks following the ICD-10 go-live on Oct. 1, many providers reported minimal to no disruptions. Now, however, after the new codes have been in place for seven months, a recent survey conducted by the AHIMA Foundation found the transition to ICD-10 has resulted in a perceived loss of coding productivity and accuracy.
The survey was conducted in the first three weeks of May and gathered responses from 156 coding professionals.
Nearly 68 percent of respondents reported a decrease in productivity, while nearly 6 percent reported an increase in productivity. Twenty-six percent of respondents said they perceived no change in productivity.
Overall, respondents reported experiencing a 14.15 percent decrease in productivity.
In terms of accuracy, 26.9 percent of respondents said they experienced a decrease in accuracy, compared to 11.5 percent who reported an increase in accuracy and 61.5 percent who reported no change. Overall, respondents reported a 0.65 percent decrease in accuracy.
AHIMA CEO Lynne Thomas Gordon said in a statement these results are to be expected, and she remains optimistic about the path forward.
"Health information management professionals are already coding with the same degree of accuracy as in ICD-9," Ms. Gordon said. "Of course with any change there will be an initial period of productivity decline, but we fully expect this decrease will be short-term in nature. In fact, respondents indicated in the survey that they have become more comfortable with the new code set with each day and productivity decreases continue to lessen."
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