As the leaves on the trees are beginning to change all around us, I am reminded again that the only constant in healthcare is change. And in order to be successful in medical coding, we must embrace and adapt quickly to change.
These past 18 months have brought much change to all of us. COVID-19 caused many of us to begin working from home for the first time along with our children and our furry office mates. We have become amateur researchers and virologists, listening to the latest news story or reading the latest journal article or medical study.
As coders, we have learned new terminology and new codes along with new guidelines for COVID-19 and its various complications. And those of us who were teaching medical coding in classrooms have transitioned to the virtual classroom, some now teaching both in-person and via a virtual classroom. Not to mention the personal toll… My thoughts and prayers go out to all of you personally impacted by this horrible pandemic. Our family and many of our friends have been impacted as well.
We have seen much change in the way healthcare is delivered. As providers shifted from seeing patients in the office to seeing patients in the privacy and safety of their homes, they learned new ways of caring for their patients. As coders, we have learned new terms (synchronous vs. asynchronous, telehealth vs telemedicine, etc.) and new ways of coding these virtual visits. As we have shifted from office to telehealth and telework and now many of us back to the office, we have learned a lot.
I always say opportunity often comes knocking disguised as challenge. It was the challenge of this virus that caused both providers and coders to adapt quickly to new technologies, to new ways of providing care and coding that care, and even to new ways of receiving our own medical care. And we will likely never go back to the way it was before. And that’s probably a good thing.
Speaking of change, we are at that time of year where our ICD-10-CM code set has been updated once again becoming effective on October 1, 2021. These updates are available on the CDC website for your review and the new ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines for Coding and Reporting can be downloaded in PDF from there as well. I have also updated my Helpful Websites page and encourage you to take a look. There you will find updated links to all things pertaining to medical coding, my gift to you for taking the time to read this blog.
Enjoy learning about all of the changes. Remember, the only constant is change.
