ICD-10 Final Rule Issued; Implementation Slated for 2013
The eagerly awaited Final Rules for adoption of ICD-10 will be published in the next few days, and the implementation date has been bumped from 2011 to 2013.
The American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) released a brief statement today applauding the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on approving the Final Rules for adoption of ICD-10.
AHIMA did express unhappiness about the compliance deadline being extended to Oct. 1, 2013, as opposed to Oct. 1, 2011. "This further extension means more years without the data needed to make intelligent data-driven decisions related to all aspects of health care," AHIMA CEO Linda Kloss, MA, RHIA, CAE, FAHIMA said in the statement. "Nonetheless, this extra time gives the industry no excuse for an adequate implementation and compliance. This extra time should be used wisely and the industry needs to start now and not wait."
Kloss also noted that the transition process won't be an easy one, but noted all of the improvements that will come in health information with the adoption of the new code sets. The organization's CEO also said it's working with HHS to help make the transition smooth. Kloss also called on HIT vendors to begin working on the development of new software for the switch to ICD-10.
You can read the final rules here. The final rule will be effective 60 days after its publication in the Federal Register. According to AHIMA's Web site, "Actual posting of the final rules is expected in the Federal Register in the next few days. The 60-day delay in the effective dates come as a requirement of the original HIPAA regulations and were set, to allow Congress a chance to review the rules. AHIMA will publish an in-depth analysis of the final rules in the coming weeks."
ADVANCE just published an in-depth article on ICD-10 implementation, looking at the myths and realities and offering up tips on how to best prepare. You can also view the article in our digital edition.