ICD-10 & Coding
Call it the summer of ICD-10 software. A corps of startups and stalwarts, in fact, are bringing new products to market to help smooth the transition.
Medicare fee-for-service providers, clearinghouses and billing agencies built on earlier successes during the final end-to-end testing week in July, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
Acting CMS administrator Andy Slavitt revealed that William Rogers, MD, director of CMS' Physicians Regulatory Issues Team, will be the ICD-10 ombudsman to the federal agency.
Fifteen years after the Y2K panic, the healthcare industry is once again closely watching the calendar. Not since Jan. 1, 2000, have so many industry professionals had their eyes on a deadline as they do on Oct. 1, 2015.
Even the staunchest opponents would be astonished if Congress somehow managed to pass legislation delaying or killing the code set. But that doesn't mean it can't happen.
While the outlook among hospitals, payers and IT vendors has improved, one industry segment remains unprepared. Officials said that is cause for concern.
"Being adverse with physicians is something I never really expected to experience as a CMIO," said Brian Yeaman, MD, when asked about how the role has changed over the years.
After decades using ICD-9, we've learned to manage its quirks, says Jon Elion, MD, but we don't yet have that comfort level with ICD-10. He's not as concerned about ICD-10-CM as he is about ICD-10 PCS.
With the Oct. 1, 2015, deadline fast-approaching, is your organization ready for ICD-10? Here's a quick readiness assessment to benchmark where you are -- and where you should consider being.
What to make of the newest Congressional wrangling over the conversion to ICD-10 and the rekindled debate that has followed. Also: the one thing healthcare executives should be doing right now.