One step to help the industry make the transition to ICD-10-CM/PCS will be temporarily suspending updates to the code set as the October 2013 deadline gets closer.

Freezing both the current ICD-9-CM and the new ICD-10-CM/PCS code sets will save organizations further cost and complexity by enabling them to focus on the system change without simultaneously managing code updates. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has been receiving recommendations on whether to freeze the code sets and, if so, for how long.

In a recently released statement, AHIMA recommends that:

• The final ICD-9-CM update should be FY 2012 (beginning October 2011, in conjunction with the federal government’s fiscal year).
• No updates should be made to ICD-10-CM/PCS for FY 2013 or FY 2014 (i.e., beginning October 2012).
• Updates to ICD-10-CM/PCS should resume in FY 2015 (October 2014). (more…)

Organizations looking to begin the transition to ICD-10-CM/PCS can find project management resources in the October practice brief “Transitioning ICD-10-CM/PCS Data Management Processes.” Web-only resources include:

• Sample project communication plan
• Sample project plan
• Sample project progress report
• Sample issues log

The online version also includes a list of communication aids that organizations may use in the transition to ICD-10-CM/PCS and a contact form for the major stakeholders leading the ICD-10-CM/PCS implementation.

As the practice brief notes, planning for the transition to ICD-10-CM/PCS is a multifaceted effort. Defining the organization’s data management plan will facilitate a smooth transition to ICD-10-CM/PCS and optimize its greater specificity.

Like the rest of us, MS-DRGs have to transition to ICD-10-CM/PCS. Their conversion is off to a good start, with a preliminary version already available.

The conversion project offered an early test of the General Equivalence Mappings and provides organizations with a process for converting their own applications to ICD-10-CM/PCS.

Rhonda Butler and Janice Bonazelli, senior clinical analysts at 3M Health Information Systems, offer an overview of the conversion in this early look into the upcoming November/December issue of the Journal.

Medicare expects its fee-for-service systems will be tested and fully operational on the X12 5010 standard by January 1, 2011. That’s bad news for health plans that may have been hoping the big payer would run late and create an industry-wide delay.

The upgrade to the HIPAA transaction 5010 standard was announced in tandem with the January 2009 final rule mandating the upgrade to ICD-10-CM and -PCS. The 5010 standard is necessary to support ICD-10.

According to a timeline published in the final rule, by the end of 2010 covered entities should have completed internal testing and can send and receive compliant transactions (”level 1″ testing). In January 2011 they begin testing with trading partners and move into production (level 2). The compliance date for all covered entities is January 2012, one year in advance of the ICD-10 deadline.

Read more in the current issue of AHIMA ICD-TEN newsletter.

The ICD-10-CM/PCS final rule requires a major transition in academic programs as well as in the field. Institutions currently teaching ICD-9-CM in baccalaureate, associate, and certificate programs must transition their curricula to ICD-10-CM/PCS in coordination with the industry’s transition to the new coding systems. Educators will be among the first in the country who need to learn ICD-10-CM/PCS.

The April practice brief “Transitioning to ICD-10-CM/PCS—An Academic Timeline” outlines how and when HIM academic programs should begin integrating ICD-10-CM/PCS education into their curriculum. The article lays out the academic transition into three phases: preparation, hybrid, and full implementation. The countdown to integrating ICD-10-CM/PCS begins on August 1, 2010, when educators should start expanding curriculum content on courses affected by ICD-10-CM/PCS changes. (more…)

There won’t be a delay on the ICD-10 final rules, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The final rule for implementing ICD-10-CM and ICD-10-PCS will go into effect March 17.

The policies in the final rule are considered to be officially adopted on that date. The regulations for the HIPAA electronic transaction standards—published the same day in a separate rule—will go into effect at the same time. The HIPAA transactions must be updated to accommodate the use of the ICD-10-CM and ICD-10-PCS code sets. 

Before becoming official, the rules had been subject to a regulatory review by the new presidential administration, as well as a 60-day hold for Congressional review required by HIPAA. The final rules were published January 16, 2009.

ICD-10-CM/PCS must be implemented by October 1, 2013; the HIPAA electronic transaction standards must be operational by January 2012 and January 2013.

For more on the preparation for the ICD-10 transition, visit AHIMA’s ICD-10 Web site for analysis, tools, training, education, resources, and information.

AHIMA mailed the first issue of ICD-TEN today, a free e-newsletter on preparing for the transition to ICD-10-CM and ICD-10-PCS. You can subscribe with just an e-mail address.

Each issue contains news, practical coding information, the steps for implementation, educational resources, and more. The newsletter comes out monthly.

AHIMA also offers a wide range of ICD-10 information on its Web site.

AHIMA has posted a 13-page analysis of the final rule on the implementation of ICD-10-CM and ICD-10-PCS. The summary is a good overview of the lengthier final rules published in the Federal Register.

The final rule was published January 16. It designates ICD-10-CM and ICD-10-PCS as medical data code sets under HIPAA, replacing the 30-year-old ICD-9-CM set. There is a single compliance date of October 1, 2013.

In the final rule, the Department of Health and Human Services states that the greater detail and granularity of ICD-10-CM/PCS will enhance the ability to measure quality outcomes and provide more precision for value-based purchased initiatives such as the hospital-acquired condition payment policy. (more…)

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services issued a final rule for implementation of ICD-10-CM and -PCS this morning, with an implementation date of October 1, 2013.

The new code set will replace the 30-year-old ICD-9-CM set. CMS had originally set a 2011 deadline in its notice of proposed rule making last year. The final rule summarizes the varied industry response that proposal received.

A second rule sets implementation dates for HIPAA transaction standards necessary to support ICD-10. Upgrade to the X12 version 5010 standard has a deadline of January 2012. Implementation of NCPDP version D.0 is required in January 2013.

HHS offers a fact sheet summarizing both rules.

(This story was updated 1/16/2009 with links to the published rules.)

AHIMA has submitted official comments on the adoption and implementation of the ICD-10-CM and ICD-10-PCS classification systems. In part, AHIMA:

• Recommends that the implementation of the two classifications and the related HIPAA transaction updates should occur over a three-year period, with the date of final compliance no later than October 1, 2012
• Supports a single compliance date across the entire US healthcare industry and recommends that the compliance date, once designated, not be extended, which would cause confusion and add costs (more…)