No delays in ICD-10 implementation.
According to the deputy director for the Office of e-Health Standards and Services at CMS, Denise M. Buenning, ICD-10 implementation is proceeding as planned. Buenning, at the 2013 ICD-10/CAC Summit in April, said “I have absolutely no reason to believe this deadline will move again. The industry has invested billions of dollars in this transition and we recognize the benefits of ICD-10 in an e-health ecosystem.” Buenning went on to say, “It would be problematic to delay or skip (ICD) 10 and go to 11. The Secretary and Administrator are dedicated to see this go in 2014. I have heard nothing to think otherwise.”
As part of her presentation on the ‘CMS ICD-10 Report on State of the Union’, Buenning stated that “the country’s e-health future is dependent on the sharing of healthcare data among stakeholders that comprise a national health information infrastructure.”
CMS views ICD-10 as a part of the overall health ecosystem including EHR Meaningful Use, Clinical Quality Measures and payment reform. The ultimate goal of all of this being better care and outcomes, improved patient encounters, and lower overall medical costs.
Medicare implementation is stated to be on track and a majority of State Medicaid agencies are confident they will meet the ICD-10 compliance dates. Providers are said to be on target for the October 1, 2014 implementation date.
For more information on ICD-10 go to http://www.cms.gov/Medicare/Coding/ICD10/index.html
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