HIMSS releases ICD-10 advisory report
The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) has issued a report listing several actionable steps healthcare stakeholders can follow to help them meet the Oct. 1, 2014, deadline to implement ICD-10.
The transition to ICD-10 is expected to improve the quality and cost-effectiveness of healthcare, but adoption poses significant challenges. To mitigate difficulties and achieve compliance, HIMSS recommends the healthcare community take the following four steps:
- Develop an ICD-10 pilot program with broad stakeholder support and conduct end-to-end business process testing;
- Prepare vendors to support payers, providers and other vendors;
- Implement an education program specifically for independent physician groups and providers; and
- Turn to the cooperating parties, including the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the National Center for Health Statistics, the American Hospital Association and the American Health Information Management Association, as the “single source of truth” for coding.
The complete report is available on HIMSS’ website.