ICD-10 Delayed

Less than a month ago, we posted a blog declaring that ICD-10 would not be delayed and to make all possible preparations for the October 1, 2014 launch. Well, as life goes once something has been proclaimed as final, there has been a delay of at least one year for ICD-10 and the other changes to the Medicare/Medicaid billing process. The next launch deadline has not been announced but there are some things you can do to keep yourself and your practice ready for when it happens.

1. Don't procrastinate. Just because there was a delay this time doesn't mean that there will be yet another delay. Make sure all departments, especially your technology department, are making their preparations. 
2. Make training and re-training plans. If you have already started training your staff on ICD-10, don't stop now. Get everyone ready for the change and schedule a refresher training right before release. 
3. Test, test, and test again. It can take months to finalize testing for a change of this magnitude. We've already started the testing process with CMS and we will continue testing as scheduled in July and possibly have more testing with Emdeon in the near future. 

If you have any questions about the ICD-10 delay, please contact Client Services. 

Contributors: Mel Johnson and Christine Parker