Awareness, Use, Application of ICD- 10
HOW MUCH ICD-10-CM/PCS competency an HIM professional requires depends on his or her role. In broad terms, three levels
describe the needs: awareness, use, and application.
AHIMA certificants are encouraged to tailor their ICD- 10 education specific to their job roles. For example, an RHIT who
performs coding as a large percentage of his or her daily routine is encouraged to follow the requirements set forth for those
specialized coding credentials. Further information can be found at www.ahima.org/icd10/role.aspx.
AWARENESS EXAMPLES USE EXAMPLES
Awareness of the impact of ICD-10-CM/PCS
on coding and other typical HIM functions
and on the healthcare industry in general.
Use of ICD-10-CM/PCS, which may include
analysis, trending, or providing information
that involves coded data, but not the actual
application of the codes in daily work; requires
more in-depth knowledge of systems.
This may include an overview of the classification system and potential impact to
workflow processes in order to prepare for
the system changes.
Introduction to ICD- 10 basics
(HIM Domain: Clinical Data Management)
Business impact assessments
(HIM Domain: External Forces)
ICD- 10 impact on information flow and
processes
(HIM Domain: Clinical Data Management)
Implementation considerations and process
(HIM Domain: Clinical Data Management)
APPLICATION EXAMPLES
Application of ICD-10-CM/PCS, which includes
assigning codes on a routine basis for various
purposes and requires a more extensive
knowledge of the systems.
ICD-10-CM structure, guidelines, and
conventions
(HIM Domain: Clinical Data Management)
ICD-10-CM by chapter
(HIM Domain: Clinical Data Management)
Understanding the General Equivalence
Mappings
(HIM Domain: Clinical Data Management)
Biomedical sciences (e.g., anatomy, physiology, medical terminology, and pathophysiology)
(HIM Domain: Clinical Foundations)
Clinical documentation improvement strategies
(HIM Domain: Clinical Data Management)
ICD-10-PCS definitions (root operations and
approaches)
(HIM Domain: Clinical Data Management)
Reimbursement methodologies
(HIM Domain: Clinical Data Management)
tor of health information services at Opelousas General Health
System, based in Opelousas, LA, and a CCHIIM board member.
“We want to be the organization that people can look to as the
gold standard for information about ICD- 10,” Hardy says. “If you
are an RHIA or RHIT, that [role] is more management of a medi-
cal record department, and you are probably unable to super-
vise people if you are not at least aware of the coding system.”
RHITs and RHIAs are required to get six CEUs focused on ICD-
10, far less than CCS credential holders, who are required to get
18 ICD- 10 CEUs. This is because RHIT/RHIAs won’t be working
with ICD- 10 as closely as a coder with a CCS, Hardy says.
Still, ICD- 10 codes will pop up in an HIM manager’s work.
The structure of the codes themselves has changed from ICD- 9
to ICD- 10, and HIM managers will need to know how to read
and look up codes in order to manage coding staff or respond to
some clinical requests, according to Swim.
“Almost everyone in our profession deals with the coded data,
either directly or indirectly,” Swim says. “CCHIIM took that into
consideration with the different roles our certification holders
have in our profession when we set the specific CEU require-
ments, but we still urge everyone to tailor their education to
their current job role.”
Credentials Required by December 2013
By December 31, 2013, AHIMA-certified professionals must
obtain baseline educational experiences focusing specifically
on ICD-10-CM/PCS. These ICD- 10 CEUs will count as part of
an AHIMA certification holders total CEU requirements for the
overall purpose of recertification. The number of CEUs depends
on the credential held (see sidebar on page 44).
The required ICD- 10 CEUs are included in the existing total
required CEUs for each cycle. They do not add to the number of
hours required. For example, an RHIT must complete 20 hours
of continuing education. With the new policy, six of those hours
must focus on ICD- 10 training.
Professionals who hold more than one AHIMA credential are
not required to meet the ICD- 10 requirements for each credential. They must obtain only the highest number of CEUs from
