Athenahealth becomes first vendor to guarantee ICD-10 compliance
With the October 2014 compliance date of ICD-10 looming, athenahealth put out a guarantee to its clients on June 5 of its readiness for the requirement and promised to waive its fees in case this guarantee is not met. “Athenahealth will also backstop the revenue cycle for independent practices by providing a cash advance against submitted claims, if those claims are delayed by payers in the ICD-10 transition period,” according to the announcement.
The guarantee comes at a time when reports abound that the healthcare industry is by and large unprepared to implement ICD-10 by the required deadline. According to athenahealth, one-third of physicians are not confident in a smooth transition to the updated set of codes.
The company specifically promised it would monitor staff progression, payer testing, lab testing and clearinghouse testing, among other activities, to facilitate the transition.
“Our model is all about going at risk for our clients' results, having skin in the game--and that's what this guarantee is all about,” Jonathan Bush, CEO and chairman, athenahealth, said in a statement.
More information on the guarantee is here.