The U. S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has formally set October 1, 2015 as a compliance date for conversion to ICD-10 diagnostic and procedure codes. This announcement came as a relief to many in healthcare who already have invested much time, effort, resources, and funding into implementation.

A joint press release by HHS and CMS (the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) indicated that “this deadline allows providers, insurance companies, and others in the healthcare industry time to ramp up their operations to ensure their systems and business processes are ready to go on Oct. 1, 2015.” Large, medium, and small healthcare groups, providers, vendors, etc. now can get back on track with preparations.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released a statement saying the new deadline gives the healthcare industry “ample time to prepare for the change.”

“ICD-10 codes will provide better support for patient care, and improve disease management, quality measurement and analytics,” CMS administrator Marilyn Tavenner said in a written statement. “For patients under the care of multiple providers, ICD-10 can help promote care coordination.”

ICD-10 represents a significant change that impacts the entire health care community. As such, much of the industry has already invested resources towards the implementation of ICD-10. CMS has executed a comprehensive testing approach, including end-to-end testing in 2015, to help ensure providers are ready. While many providers, including physicians, hospitals, and health plans, have completed the necessary system changes to transition to ICD-10, the time offered by Congress and this rule ensures all providers are ready.

Regardless of where you fall on this continuum, now is the time to refocus and ensure that your agency is on course for October 1, 2015.

For additional information about ICD-10, please visit: http://www.cms.gov/ICD10