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Two timelines plot out progress toward ICD-10 and 5010
The thought of sitting down and creating an ICD-10 transition timeline from scratch can be daunting. If you want some inspiration, check out these two timelines that are posted on the North Carolina Healthcare Information and Communication Alliance (NCHICA), Inc. Web site.
These timelines were discussed at the 17th National HIPAA Summit last week in Washington, DC, during a presentation given by Stanley Nachimson, principal at Nachimson Advisors, LLC, in Resterstown, MD, and director of the WEDI-NCHICA Timeline Project, and a former senior advisor for HIT at CMS.
Nachimson stressed that software vendors, payers, and providers all need to take an active role in planning for the transition to HIPAA 5010.
“The key is to take a look at how your business is going to have to change,” Nachimson said during the presentation. “It makes no sense to wait for the vendor to figure out how [the transition to HIPAA 5010] is going to impact your business. Look at the changes now, and make sure your vendors support these necessary changes.”
He said that providers should have already completed their impact assessment when it comes to ICD-10, adding that most will be amazed at the number of functions that the switch to ICD-10 will affect.
“You need to be able to report the codes, but you also have to have the right documentation to support the ICD-10 codes, so you have to think of other processes that must also change,” he said. “If you haven’t started planning, you’re already behind the curve.”
Share your ICD-10 questions, tips, and strategies
What is your organization doing to plan for the transition to ICD-10? Have you formed an ICD-10 implementation committee? Have coding staff members attended any recent educational sessions, such as the free Webinars the American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC) receently sponsored? If so, what feedback did they have to share? What did they learn?
Aren’t you curious to hear what others are doing to tackle this transition?
We want to hear your story! We want to share your questions about ICD-10 as well as your strategies for making the transition as seamless as possible. Submit your comment and learn from others in the industry.
Have you established your implementation timeline?
In a recent JustCoding.com mini-poll, we asked subscribers the following question:
Has your organization established a timeline for the transition to ICD-10? This is the breakdown of the 151 responses:
- Yes: 8%
- We’re planning the timeline now: 23%
- No, but we feel like we have plenty of time: 52%
- No, and we feel like we’re falling behind: 17%
However, a July 31 article on HealthLeaders Media stated the following:
Industry experts have repeatedly said that ICD-10 implementation must begin immediately in order for hospitals, health plans, and vendors to meet the October 1, 2013 compliance deadline. But now there is detailed evidence to prove it.
On July 20, the North Carolina Healthcare Information and Communications Alliance, Inc., (NCHICA) and The Workgroup for Electronic Data Interchange (WEDI) released a timeline that quantifies each ICD-10 preparation task in terms of the number of days it will take to complete.
NCHICA and WEDI estimate it will take providers nearly 1,286 work days to implement ICD-10. For vendors, it will take nearly 1,521 work days to complete. And the clock is ticking.
Has your organization established a timeline for implementing ICD-10? Do you feel like you have plenty of time, or are you starting to feel like you’re falling behind?
