CMS Makes 2014 ICD-10 Implementation Official

Today is the day when the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced the official ICD-10 implementation. The one-year delay for compliance has been moved to Oct. 1, 2014.

Our last poll was on this topic. Thanks to all of you who took the time to vote on where you are in your ICD-10 implementation. Here are the results:

• 80% of you have continued to prepare for ICD-10 with no delay
• 20% were waiting to hear what will happen and then worry about it
• 0  votes were received for those who have taken some steps but aren't really concerned about it

Nephrologists are no procrastinators. Congrats to the 80 percent of you who have pushed on and continued to prepare for what is coming. To the rest of you, it's time to get started and prepare for Oct. 1, 2014. It may seem like a long time away, but switching from ICD-9 to ICD-10 is not a process you can do in a month or two. Start early to keep your sanity and your staff stress-free.

Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said  in a press release "These new standards are a part of our efforts to help providers and health plans spend less time filling out paperwork and more time seeing their patients."

The 208-page final rule document said that thanks to a recent CMS survey, up to one quarter of health care providers feel that they will not be ready for the original Oct. 1, 2013, compliance date. The additional time gives covered entities the ability to synchronize the system and business process preparations, and changeover to the updated medical code sets. It also allows more time to transition and thoroughly test ICD-10.

"By allowing more time to prepare, covered entities may be able to avoid costly obstacles that would otherwise emerge while in production."

Check out this article to see how you can prepare for the transition.

On to our new poll. This week it focuses on the voucher-based health care approach that has been presented by Republican candidate, Mitt Romney, and his vice presidential selection, Paul Ryan. Do you think the voucher system would strengthen or weaken the quality of care? Maybe you aren't sure or don't think it would make a difference. Tell us what you think by checking out the most recent poll located on the right lower page of our webpage, between "Galleries" and "Most Popular Articles" and let us know what you think.