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Overview

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What are ICD-10 code updates?

Every year, the Centers for Medicaid & Medicaid Services (CMS) updates the list of ICD-10 codes permitted for billing patient encounters. The yearly update includes ICD-10 code additions, revisions, and deletions. Click here to review the latest ICD-10 code information from CMS.

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How does Elation maintain the latest ICD-10 code changes?

To ensure only valid ICD-10 codes are used, Elation automatically updates your account with the corresponding ICD-10 code changes on the date that the changes take effect. Once this update is complete,:
  • Only valid ICD-10 codes will appear as search results within the problem lists, visit note assessment, and Billing Form.
  • Deprecated ICD-10 codes will continue to remain in all historical records, including the patient’s Problem List.
    • You will still be able to export deprecated ICD-10 codes to the Assessment section of the visit note, but you will not be able to export deprecated ICD-10 codes to the Billing section of the visit note since deprecated codes are non-billable. Click here to learn more about managing deprecated ICD-10 codes.
    • To identify deprecated ICD-10 codes in the Problem List, use one of the two methods:
      • Look for an orange dot to the left of the problem.
      • Refer to a banner at the the top of the Problem List that tells you how many non-billable codes are in the Problem List.

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Workflow Instructions

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Managing yearly ICD-10 updates

To avoid exporting deprecated ICD-10 codes to your visit notes, we recommend
  1. Updating any deprecated ICD-10 codes in your patients’ Problem List with one of the following options detailed in this article.
  2. Review and update any deprecated ICD-10 codes in each patient’s Problem List as they come in for their next encounter.
  3. Search for all patients with deprecated ICD-10 codes and update them before waiting for the patients’ next encounters.
  4. Reviewing your Visit Note Templates and updating any deprecated ICD-10 codes with appropriate, current alternatives.

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Frequently Asked Questions

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Does Elation check ICD-10 code validity against a visit note’s date of service?

No. Elation determines whether an ICD-10 code is valid based on the current date, not the date of service on the visit note you’re working in. When CMS code changes take effect, Elation updates which codes appear as valid search results in the problem list, visit note assessment, and Billing Form based on that effective date, regardless of the date of service on the visit note. This means a diagnosis code can appear as a valid search result on a visit note with a backdated or future-dated date of service, as long as the code is currently valid. It also means a code that becomes deprecated after you’ve already added it to a visit note stays in that visit note’s historical record, but is no longer available to add to the Billing section going forward. See Managing deprecated, non-billable ICD-10 codes to update codes that have been deprecated.

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Resources