Home Forums Discussions General Discussion Still using v6.3.3

I was afraid to upgrade to the version needed for icd10 bc of the complaints posted here and the link with our PM software may fail. We are still using 6.3.3. The doctor is coding the visits in icd9 in AC and manually looking up icd10 (in her code book) and writing it on the super bill for billing purposes only. (our super bills are scanned saved in II.)

Am I overlooking something? Still would prefer to not upgrade until these icd10 issues are worked out, especially since they seem to really effect pediatrics.

Oh we have to manually add the icd10 code to orders also. And have begrudgingly accepted this.

What do you think? Should we update now?

I upgraded from 6.5.5 to 8.2.4. I haven't really had any major issues. It is a little slower but has some nice features.

Load a copy of AC on a non-connected computer and use it enough to see it's not the "boogie man" version.
It WORKS!

Is it slower? Slightly, but not as bad as you think
Once you see how much better ICD10 works it should be a no brainer.

Read some of the other responses here recently, people who move from 6.3.X are surprised at how well it works. Are there complaints? Sure, but it isn't that bad. It's so much better I would NEVER think of going back. LOTS of things were fixed. It is slightly slower but not that bad. You really need to try it.

There is a reason that AC pushed 8.2.4 and geared up to push

Yes, MUCH better than 6.3!

Serene,

I have stayed with 6.3.3. I have trialed V8, and noted the new features, but there is nothing in it that I need. I am not doing MU any longer, nor do I bill with AC. I'll upgrade eventually, but for now, I am happier being with a known simple and fast version. I also like that I can modify/customize the diagnosis code list which cannot be done in V8.

Here is how I make it work for ICD10. I prep my charts before each visit.
1. Go to summary sheet, change all the existing diagnoses to inactive.
2. Pull up the inactive list, then click Add to bring up the code entry box. Move the code box down on the screen so you can see your list of diagnoses.
3. Search for your code.
4. When you find the ICD9 code you want, click edit code, enter the ICD10 code in the code box and save. Doing it this way does not remove your ICD9 code, but it adds your new ICD10 code with the same description. The ICD10 codes will be at the end of the list when your search thereafter since they start with letters instead of numbers. Then, add the diagnosis for the patient.
5. When you have finished this for each diagnosis, your active list will contain the diagnoses with their ICD10 codes.
6. After you have done a number of patients, you will have a good number of your common diagnoses in the code database to select, so it will be quicker to add diagnoses since you will not have to edit the ICD9s.

It takes a few minutes per patient, but you will only have to do it once for each patient.
Then your summary sheet has the ICD10 diagnoses which you can use for encounters.
When you print an order, it will have the ICD10 codes.

If you need an ICD10 code that does not exist in ICD9, use the Add button in the code list to add it. It will show up in yellow in the list since it was not modified from an existing known diagnosis. So, when a note is signed off, it will give a message about an incomplete code which can just be ignored.

If this is not clear, let me know.

Thanks, Donna and Wendell. I will try both your suggestions!

Serene,

I did what Wendell suggested, I put it on a computer that we don't use and played around with it a bit before installing on the whole office system. I don't use all the features but they do have some cool features since I've upgraded from v6.5.5

Donna, fantastic idea. I will tell you that I'm glad I switched. I am really enjoying v8. It's better in so many ways. I think I'm crazy to say this, but I'm enjoying ICD-10 as well. They codes make so much more sense for common ones I use.