The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services posted in August 2014 that the road to ICD-10 compliance will be another year longer.  The new date for conversion is 10/1/2015.  As we’ve published before, this conversion is long over due and WILL be coming at some point even if they keep pushing back the date.

This conversion was not a part of the Affordable Care Act, so if you are thinking that if the ACA goes away so will this conversion and that is just simply “head in the sand” thinking.  This is an implementation of a international coding standard and we here in the US are just behind the curve with the rest of the western world in using this new classification system.  We do need to catch up and we eventually will.  Don’t let this conversion scare you out of your practice!  I have had a lot of providers tell me that they will quit first before converting, and that just isn’t practical.  ICD-10 will benefit the medical community by increasing the accuracy of diagnosis coding and allow entitlement programs and insurance carriers to gain more specificity in tracking diagnosis populations.  With more specificity comes more attention which leads to more reimbursement for the provider.

If you are a small practice, I urge you to check out the CMS website for the “Road to 10” implementation map

Road to 10: CMS Online Tool for Small Practices

CMS has released Road to 10, an online resource built with the help of providers in small practices, is now available. This tool is intended to help small medical practices jumpstart their ICD-10 transition.

“Road to 10” includes specialty references and gives providers the capability to build ICD-10 action plans tailored for their practice needs.

Also, VE Cycle Management specializes in providing solutions that are already ICD-10 ready.  We can help!  Contact us today!