Post by Guest Author: Robert F. Polglase, MD, JD, CHCQM
On Wednesday February 11, 2015 the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s subcommittee on healthcare held its much-awaited hearing on ICD-10 implementation, scheduled for October 1, 2015.
Since the implementation delay last year, many providers have slowed down or stopped their preparation for the ICD-10 transition in hopes of another delay, or outright abandonment of the ICD-10 code set. Although CMS has issued a final rule stating October 1, 2015 is the implementation date, there is still much skepticism as to whether this will actually move forward.
At the hearing, several members of the subcommittee, including the chairman, voiced their support for moving forward with ICD-10 implementation on October 1. It remains to be seen whether amendments will be offered to the upcoming annual “doc fix,” or the Sustainable Growth Rate rule that would trigger Medicare pay cuts to physicians, or any other legislation between now and October 1. There’s a lot of skepticism out there and for good reason. However at this point it’s a good idea to have processes in place to be ready for October 1 to be sure your practice or organization isn’t caught off guard.
Here are some things you can (and should) be doing right now: