The North Carolina Medical Society (NCMS) encourages you to get ready to make the transition to ICD-10 by the Oct. 1, 2015 deadline. The risk is that claims will be denied if providers don’t make the switch.
All insurers, public and private, are affected.
In North Carolina, NCTracks currently is testing with providers and trading partners to make sure the system will be ready.
Providers who have delayed their preparations are urged to take advantage of available resources to learn about ICD-10, especially the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). For links to this and other resources, consult their ICD-10 webpage. CMS also offers a Quick Start Guide highlighting the five steps necessary to be ready for Oct. 1:  1) Make a Plan, 2) Train Your Staff, 3) Update Your Processes, 4) Talk with Your Vendors and Health Plans, and 5) Test Your Systems and Processes.
NCTracks offers answers to recent questions they’ve received:
Q: For claims with dates of service prior to October 1 but submitted after, we use ICD-9 codes, right?
Yes, that is correct.
Q: What is NCTracks doing to prepare for the amount of claims that will be split come the October 1 switch to ICD-10 codes?
Most claims are submitted as electronic X12 transactions to NCTracks, which are processed in near real time, as resources are available. In other words, the higher claim volume anticipated over the October 1 transition date will be queued up and processed as they are received. It may take somewhat longer to adjudicate the higher volume of claims. However, the NCTracks system is designed to accommodate fluctuations in claim volume. A normal checkwrite may vary from 2 million to as much as 7 million claims in a given week.
Q: Have these new ICD-10 codes been added into NCTracks?
The ICD-10 codes are in the NCTracks system, but federal rules for ICD-10 implementation will not allow ICD-10 codes to be used prior to October 1. NCTracks is actively engaged in testing with providers and trading partners through July. After that we will take any lessons learned from testing and make any changes needed. The ICD-10 codes will be available for use in the NCTracks system on October 1.
Q: Has NC Tracks tested with any clearinghouses?  If so, which?
Yes, clearinghouses are participating in testing. They include ClaimLogic, ClaimRemedi, CPSI, MedAssets, Emdeon, HealthFusion, HIS, PHYSICIAN’S COMPUTER COMPANY, Relay Health, SSI Group, and Trizetto Provider Solution.