CHICAGO – April 2, 2019 – To help professionals in skilled nursing facilities (SNF) prepare for the largest payment reimbursement change for their industry in 20 years, the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) collaborated with the American Health Care Association (AHCA) to provide in-depth coding and clinical documentation improvement (CDI) training programs.

Beginning October 1, 2019, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will change the reimbursement model for SNFs to a new, value-based Patient Driven Payment Model (PDPM) that will require CDI skillsets and knowledge of ICD-10-CM diagnosis codes in order to accurately support the qualifying stay and demonstrate the need for care and treatment best suited for each patient.

AHCA enlisted AHIMA to help develop in-depth coding and CDI education courses to help prepare SNF providers for the major payment overhaul. The courses include two options: the first provides webinars for coding in ICD-10-CM and requirements in CDI case studies and concludes with a 50-question assessment. The second option is a shorter course for non-coders that includes a webinar with a high-level review and basic information on ICD-10-CM coding guidelines to provide an introduction to the PDPM reimbursement model. Both courses offer AHIMA CEUs and CNE contact hours*. In addition, the non-coder course offers NAB continuing education credits.

“In order to stay up-to-date with the ever-changing healthcare industry, it is critical that professionals have the resources they need to continue to provide exceptional care,” said AHIMA CEO Wylecia Wiggs Harris, PhD, CAE. “This is why we’re happy to work with AHCA on this important training program, which will equip professionals working in skilled nursing facilities with the knowledge and understanding of ICD-10 needed to thrive under the new payment system, and ultimately improve patient outcomes.”

“ICD-10 is a driving force behind the new PDPM payment system for skilled nursing care,” said Jennifer Shimer, AHCA/NCAL COO and Senior Vice President, Member Services. “AHCA partnered with AHIMA to develop the best ICD-10 curriculum possible to prepare our members for this massive Medicare payment change.”

CDI is at the core of every patient encounter and through this collaboration, AHIMA and AHCA will help SNFs understand ICD-10-CM guidelines for coding and reporting and how to apply the guidelines to coding for the PDPM Medicare reimbursement. The courses will also help SNFs assess coding and diagnostic perspectives when identifying high quality clinical documentation and classify SNFs into appropriate clinical categories as defined by the PDPM.

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About AHIMA
AHIMA is a global nonprofit association of health information (HI) professionals. AHIMA represents professionals who work with health data for more than one billion patient visits each year. AHIMA’s mission of empowering people to impact health drives our members and credentialed HI professionals to ensure that health information is accurate, complete, and available to patients and providers. Our leaders work at the intersection of healthcare, technology, and business, and are found in data integrity and information privacy job functions worldwide.

About ACHA
The American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL) represent more than 13,700 non-profit and proprietary skilled nursing centers, assisted living communities, sub-acute centers and homes for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. By delivering solutions for quality care, AHCA/NCAL aims to improve the lives of the millions of frail, elderly and individuals with disabilities who receive long term or post-acute care in our member facilities each day. For more information, please visit www.ahca.org or www.ncal.org.

*American Health Information Management Association is accredited as a provider of continuing nursing education by the American Nurses Credentialing Center's Commission on Accreditation.