Fall 2015 is new implementation date for ICD-10 August 8, 2014 Medi-Cal, Medicare CMS, ICD-10, SGR, Sustainable Growth Rate, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services 0 The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) last week published a final rule, officially setting Oct. 1, 2015, as the new ICD-10 implementation deadline. The bill including a temporary patch of the sustainable growth rate (SGR), passed by Congress in April also included a delay in ICD-10 implementation, which was previously to begin on Oct. 1, 2014. The new deadline allows providers, payors and others in the health care industry time to ensure their systems and business processes are ready to go on Oct. 1, 2015. ICD-10 (The International Classification of Disease tenth revision) is a system of coding created in 1992 as the successor to the previous ICD-9 code set. ICD-10 will include new procedures and diagnoses, which the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services HHS hopes will improve the quality of information available for quality improvement and payment purposes. CMS also announced that it will implement a “comprehensive testing approach” including end-to-end testing, leading up to the October 2015 implementation date. The testing will be available to physicians in January, April and July next year, giving physicians the chance to help determine the preparedness of their practices and the industry for this transition. More information about end-to-end testing will be available soon. Physicians can take advantage of the American Medical Association’s (AMA) free ICD-10 resources, including tip sheets that offer guidance on completing an impact assessment, determining training needs, conducting testing and improving documentation. For additional information about ICD-10, visit www.cms.gov/ICD10. Comments are closed.
