Physician Practice

GAO reports on CMS’ ICD-10 preparations

Physician Practice Insider, February 24, 2015

CMS is adequately preparing to implement ICD-10 October 1, according to a new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report detailing CMS’ transition efforts.

The report highlights CMS’ successful efforts to:

  • Complete all ICD-10 related changes to its Medicare payment systems
  • Implement testing
  • Prepare stakeholders for the move to ICD-10

The report came just five days before the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s subcommittee on healthcare’s hearing on ICD-10 readiness. Sue Bowman, AHIMA's senior director of coding policy and compliance, was one of the seven industry stakeholders providing testimony.

Previous delays in ICD-10 implementation have been costly and burdensome, according to industry stakeholders interviewed by the GAO. CMS documentation shows that testing to date has not identified any CMS-related issues, according to the report. CMS will conduct additional testing prior to ICD-10 implementation. The agency plans acknowledgment testing March 2-6 and June 1-5, with end-to-end testing weeks scheduled for April 27-May 1 and July 20-24.

The Senate Finance Committee requested the report and asked the GAO to continue to monitor CMS’ implementation preparation and testing.

Read more via JustCoding.com.

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