Preparing a Successful ICD-10 Transition

Are Hospitals Lagging Behind on ICD-10 Training? Survey says … Yes!

(This sponsored blog was written by Lee Ann Bryant, associate product manager, HealthStream.)

According to a recent survey conducted by the Workgroup for Electronic Data Interchange (WEDI), an industry leader on the use of healthcare IT to improve the exchange of healthcare information, healthcare facilities as a whole are not on track for a smooth transition to ICD-10 Oct. 1, 2014. Close to 1,000 industry participants were surveyed on readiness in February of this year, including 778 providers, 109 health plans, and 87 vendors.

Stanley Nachimson, director of the NCHICA/WEDI (North Carolina Health Information and Communications Alliance) stated "... it has become clear that many entities postponed their work until much later.  It remains to be seen how this postponement will affect the progress to compliance. Indications remain that significant numbers of industry participants have a considerable amount of work to do in a very short time."

Based on survey results, there was a shift in ICD-10 timelines across all facility types. Some contributing factors to this slow progress include the change in compliance dates, competing internal priorities, and other regulatory mandates.

Some key results from the survey include:

• Almost half of the health plans expect to begin external testing by the end of this year. In the 2012, survey all health plans had expected to begin in 2013.
• About half of the providers responded that they did not know when testing would occur and more than two-fifths of provider respondents indicated they did not know when they would complete their impact assessment and business changes.
• About two-thirds of vendors indicate they plan to begin customer review and beta testing by the end of this year. This is similar to the number who expected to begin by the end of 2012 in the prior survey.

"The survey results show that projected timeframes for testing have shifted, and many organizations will not begin this task until 2014," stated Jim Daley, WEDI chairman. "Because of the magnitude of ICD-10, it is critical that organizations complete their remediation efforts as quickly as possible in order to allow adequate time for testing." (For a full copy of WEDI's letter to CMS, click here.)

It is critical that providers get started with their training right away. CMS has provided numerous timelines and checklists based on facility type and size. To access the ICD-10 Implementation Timelines and Checklists, click here.

If you have not yet begun your training for ICD-10 and want more information from HealthStream on the ICD-10 Solution Suite of products we offer through our partner, Precyse, click here.