Who could possibly have seen this coming? Oh, wait.
Some chatter on this at: http://www.icd10watch.com/blog/we-still-have-icd-10-implementation-plan
Over at DotMed, here is some scuttlebutt:
How long the delay would be for isn’t known. Still, the news drew praise from the AMA, which formally announced its opposition to the October 2013 ICD-10 deadline in a meeting last November.
“The timing of the ICD-10 transition could not be worse for physicians,” Dr. Peter Carmel, AMA’s president, said on the group’s website this week. “Burdens on physician practices need to be reduced — not created — as the nation’s health care system undertakes significant payment and delivery reforms.”
In defense of the current deadline, HIMSS said many of the “larger providers” have already taken steps necessary to put ICD-10 in place in time. In fact, HIMSS said 90 percent of 302 health care IT executives responding to its recent leadership survey said they would meet the original deadline, according to a study the group intends to share next week at its annual conference in Las Vegas. HIMSS also said 67 percent of respondents to the survey said ICD-10 implementation is their number one financial IT priority.
“While HIMSS understands and recognizes that there are providers facing resource challenges to meet the compliance date, the conversion to ICD-10 code sets will affect more positive outcomes for patients,” the group said in its announcement.
Of course, ICD-10 isn’t the final stop on the line. As America braces for ICD-10, ICD-11 is already in the works.
The actual writ from HHS:
HHS announces intent to delay ICD-10 compliance date
As part of President Obama’s commitment to reducing regulatory burden, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen G. Sebelius today announced that HHS will initiate a process to postpone the date by which certain health care entities have to comply with International Classification of Diseases, 10th Edition diagnosis and procedure codes (ICD-10).
The final rule adopting ICD-10 as a standard was published in January 2009 and set a compliance date of October 1, 2013 – a delay of two years from the compliance date initially specified in the 2008 proposed rule. HHS will announce a new compliance date moving forward.
“ICD-10 codes are important to many positive improvements in our health care system,” said HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. “We have heard from many in the provider community who have concerns about the administrative burdens they face in the years ahead. We are committing to work with the provider community to reexamine the pace at which HHS and the nation implement these important improvements to our health care system.”
ICD-10 codes provide more robust and specific data that will help improve patient care and enable the exchange of our health care data with that of the rest of the world that has long been using ICD-10. Entities covered under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) will be required to use the ICD-10 diagnostic and procedure codes.
