ICD-10, the new coding system that the providers should be compliant by October 1, 2014, is a challenge; needless to say this is a truism. ICD-10 is worrisome for everyone, let alone the big healthcare organizations. ICD-10 has 68,000 codes, as opposed to the 13,000 in ICD-9; this requires expertise, time and trainings at same time. The EHR vendors will be required to meet the standards of criteria and implement it smoothly.

Many codes of ICD-10 are built on the existing codes of ICD-9. With ICD-10 translation support tools, directly built in your EHR many of the ICD-9 codes can be used to navigate using translation tools. EHR transition from ICD-9 to ICD-10 is an arduous challenge for the developers too, because the EHR system is filled with bugs and removes them from requiring provider’s feedback.


The headache lies in providers who will have to familiarize themselves with new ICD-10 codes and standards. With the EHR system, they will still need extensive training for themselves and their staff in order to deliver. If the provider’s biller makes a mistake in coding, the result will be no revenue in shape of denied claims. EHR provides tools to allow easy cross over; tools from both ICD-9 and SNOMED are provided inside the EHR to eliminate the need to memorize the differences between codes as the system will adjust to itself. The compliance will be managed automatically.

How easy will the EHR make the transition from ICD-9 to ICD-10 for you? In fact, let’s exaggerate a little bit; it will be very easy at least easier than your current workflow. Not knowing the code for a specific condition you will be able to far more range of diseases with just a few clicks and with minimal effort through the use of advanced search built in tools. Searching through the system helps you identify the code, and ensures they are apposite and billable.