In Aug. 2008, HHS issued a proposed rule that would have required healthcare e providers to adopt ICD-10 code sets by Oct. 2011; however, after receiving more than 3,000 comments on the proposal, the agency agreed to delay implementation until Oct. 1, 2013.
The Health IT Policy Committee has reportedly been considering a delay of Stage 2 of the meaningful use program; one suggestion would push the start date back to 2014. Paul Tang, chair of the meaningful use work group and CMIO of Palo Alto Medical Foundation, said delaying the start date for stage 2 could give providers the chance to “sync up” their upgrades for ICD-10 with meaningful use.
Others say the ICD-10 transition will be challenging regardless of the timeline, and preparations have already started for an Oct. 1, 2013 transition date.
Read the Government Health IT report on delaying stage 2 meaningful use.
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