Physicians must upgrade their practice management systems to meet new standards or risk foregoing electronic payments from private insurers and Medicare starting Jan. 1, 2012, according to an American Medical News report.
According to the report, many physicians have not yet realized they need to take steps to ensure HIPAA Version 5010 compliance. According to a study released in March by MGMA, 56 percent of practices have not scheduled internal testing for 5010, and 61 percent had not scheduled testing with their major health plans.
The new data standards for HIPAA 5010 demand more specificity in what data must be entered or transmitted. For example, physicians must submit a nine-digit (rather than five-digit) ZIP code on all claims submissions, as well as a street address instead of a post office box. 5010 also allows for greater specificity in prompting physicians to distinguish between principal diagnosis, admitting diagnosis, external cause of injury and patient reason for visit codes. The implementation of 5010 will also enable the implementation of ICD-10, to be adopted starting on Oct. 1, 2013.
The implementation date for HIPAA 5010 has already been pushed back from April 1, 2010 to Jan. 1, 2012 by the Bush administration. Experts say physicians should not need more time if they start the transition process as soon as possible.
Read the American Medical News report on 5010.
Read more on HIPAA Version 5010:
-CMS Prepares to Survey Providers on ICD-10, 5010
-One-Third of Healthcare Providers Not Ready for 5010
-CMS to Hold Teleconference on ICD-10, HIPAA Version 5010
According to the report, many physicians have not yet realized they need to take steps to ensure HIPAA Version 5010 compliance. According to a study released in March by MGMA, 56 percent of practices have not scheduled internal testing for 5010, and 61 percent had not scheduled testing with their major health plans.
The new data standards for HIPAA 5010 demand more specificity in what data must be entered or transmitted. For example, physicians must submit a nine-digit (rather than five-digit) ZIP code on all claims submissions, as well as a street address instead of a post office box. 5010 also allows for greater specificity in prompting physicians to distinguish between principal diagnosis, admitting diagnosis, external cause of injury and patient reason for visit codes. The implementation of 5010 will also enable the implementation of ICD-10, to be adopted starting on Oct. 1, 2013.
The implementation date for HIPAA 5010 has already been pushed back from April 1, 2010 to Jan. 1, 2012 by the Bush administration. Experts say physicians should not need more time if they start the transition process as soon as possible.
Read the American Medical News report on 5010.
Read more on HIPAA Version 5010:
-CMS Prepares to Survey Providers on ICD-10, 5010
-One-Third of Healthcare Providers Not Ready for 5010
-CMS to Hold Teleconference on ICD-10, HIPAA Version 5010