All Aboard For EDI & Coding Changes

New health care electronic transaction standardized requirements are coming up fast. Testing for the new 5010 version of data interchange and ICD-10 Level II compliance begins January 1, 2011. The current version, 4010A will be accepted through December 31, 2011 but the new version 5010 will also be accepted by the Medicare & Medicaid systems.

January 1, 2012 is the cutoff date for old versions of EDI and ICD-9. Everyone submitting electronic requests or responses for electronic claims, EOBs, eligibility, and claim status inquires must be compliant to the new standards. Level II compliance means "that a covered entity has completed end-to-end testing with each of its trading partners, and is able to operate in production mode with the new versions of the standards."

It is recommended to start the change-over soon, allow plenty of time for testing, and have a smooth, flowing exchange happening before the deadline. If using a billing service, make sure to contact them and make sure they are aware of the upcoming changes and especially that their software will be upgraded for this change to avoid complications and delays. If you do your own billing, make sure to check with your medical billing software company. It is important to make sure they are aware of the changes and are currently working to upgrade. Old versions of software may not be maintained or supported with upgrades and it may be time to transition to Iridium Suite! It is imperative to fix problems before they affect your valuable time and cash flow!