Providers "Refusing to Pay Attention" to ICD-10 Transition

The approaching ICD-10 implementation deadline may not be spurring providers to make changes to their software and coding practices, according to a Jacksonville Business Journal report.

Kim Reid, director of ICD-10 development and training for the American Academy of Professional Coders, said she speaks to provider groups who are unaware of the transition to ICD-10. She said that at a recent meeting in North Carolina, she asked how many providers had heard of ICD-10 and "not many hands went up."

She said she believes ICD-10 may get bumped down the priority list because of the other changes happening in healthcare. However, the switch to ICD-10 is not optional: Anyone who uses healthcare data with CPT codes must transition to the new version on Oct. 1, 2013.

Ms. Reid said providers should start the transition now because healthcare changes are not expected to slow down. "I don't really know that there will ever be the optimal time to just say, 'Okay, nothing else is going on. We're going to do ICD-10 now,'" she said.

Read the Jacksonville Business Journal report on ICD-10.

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