CMS Signals It May Delay ICD-10 Implementation February 15, 2012 News ICD-10, Marilyn Tavenner 0 Today the acting head of the Medicare agency, Marilyn Tavenner, said the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will “re-examine” the pace of ICD-10 implementation. “There's concern that folks cannot get their work done around meaningful use, their work around ICD-10 implementation and be ready for exchanges," Tavenner said. “So we're trying to listen to that and be responsive.” ICD-10, which stands for International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision, is a new set of codes that will be used by doctors and hospitals to describe medical services in bills they send to insurers. It will expand the number of codes in use from around 18,000 in the current ICD-9 code set to about 140,000. In a January 17 letter to House Speaker John Boehner, the AMA urged a “stop” to the implementation of ICD-10, calling it a “significant burden on the practice of medicine with no direct benefit to individual patient care.” The letter said physicians are already dealing with an array of other technology upgrades and deadlines, and also trying to prepare for the transitions contemplated under the broad health-care overhaul law. The letter also suggests that stakeholders come together to consider “an appropriate replacement” for ICD-9. Source: Wall Street Journal, February 14, 2012 Comments are closed.
