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ICD-10 implementation set for 2013

HIM Connection, January 20, 2009

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The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced on January 15 the final regulation to replace the ICD-9-CM code sets now used to report healthcare diagnoses and inpatient procedures with the more advanced ICD-10 code set currently used in other nations. The final regulation will implement the ICD-10 code set two years later than HHS initially proposed: October 1, 2013.

The new timeline comes as welcome news to the industry, which feared that the original proposed implementation date of 2011 wouldn't give organizations enough time to prepare for the change.

Dan Rode, MBA, CHPS, FHFMA, vice president of policy and government relations for The American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) in Washington, DC, agrees. "It certainly gives people plenty of time to implement and do the testing. On the other hand, it's not a reason to think that we can sit by for a while until we get closer to 2013. The concerns that we've raised about what has to be done over the next few years are still in front of us."

"We've got an extra year, so let's use it wisely," he says.

Click here to view the final rule.

Do you have a plan for ICD-10?
Are you prepared for ICD-10 coding? It will take cooperation between everyone in your organization — HIM, billing/coding, IT, medical staff leadership the executive suite and more to ensure a smooth implementation. Join HCPro on Tuesday, January 27, at 1 p.m. (Eastern) for the live 90-minute audio conference ICD-10: Develop a Blueprint for Implementation. You'll learn how to form a multi-disciplinary, and how to prepare for the financial impact ICD-10 will have on your organization. For more information or to order, call 800/650-6787 and mention Source Code EXPRESS or visit HCPro Healthcare Marketplace.

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