When you're planning the ICD-10 transition for your healthcare organization, you need to identify the problems that could prevent ICD-10 compliance.

Steve Sisko does a good job with his list of 12 risks in an ICD-10 project:

• Providers not ready
• Payers not ready
• Neutrality
• Configuration (payer systems)
• Trading partner Readiness
• Inter-dependencies with other systems and procedures
• Missed areas
• Testing
• Payments
• Vendor readiness
• Resource availability
• Impacts from other projects

A slightly different view can be seen in this list of ICD-10 challenges from Kforce:

• Lack of program management
• Poor communications
• Physician resistance
• Hospital system partnerships

Take a look at both lists and the challenges boil down to two elements:

Project management

How are your project management skills?

Someone is going to need to:

• Schedule meetings
• Create teams
• Recruit champions
• Plan education and training sessions
• Create impact assessments
• Communicate with vendors and consultants
• Perhaps hire said consultants

This is going to require strong project management skills.

Maybe you don't need to start learning ICD-10 coding but you can pick up some new skills that can help you guide your practice through a smoother ICD-10 transition. Here are some resources that can help you manage projects better:

• ICD-10 Playbook: Here's a collection of presentations and white papers on how to plan your ICD-10 implementation. (HIMSS)
• Coordination Key to ICD-10 Switch: Here's a little bit of Project Management 101 for healthcare providers and how it could apply to ICD-10 implementation. (Becker's Hospital Review)
• Project Management Blogs: This is an aggregation of all kinds of blogs dedicated to project management. (Alltop.com)

While we're at it, you need to coordinate your ICD-10 project with other initiatives.

[See also: Herding Nerds: 5 project management tips for ICD-10 implementation]

Communication

It's about keeping everyone updated within the organization and learning how far along your external partners are.

[See also: CMS has advice on sharing ICD-10 transition information]

Speaking of external partners, hospital system partners are just as external as payers and vendors. They have their own cultures, procedures, systems and missions. Sharing the same logo doesn't mean you're on the same page. Take as much care communicating with them as you do with anyone outside your organization.