Healthcare It – Why Icd-10 Coding System Has Been Delayed?

By Author: Ruth Jackson
Total Articles: 51
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The timeline for ICD-10 coding system by healthcare organizations has been delayed by a year to 1st Oct 2014. This has happened because a unique healthcare identifier is to be created to streamline the billing processes for providers. It will result in physicians having to spend less time filling out forms and more time in patient care. The implementation is expected to save doctors and insurers $4.6 billion over the next decade. Some groups have however called for a detailed cost benefit analysis and a pilot test before the roll out.

The delay in the implementation of ICD-10 coding system has brought in mixed reactions from various concerned groups who have debated on the pros and cons of such a step. Some feel that it will only result in an escalation of costs in a significant manner. They have urged for a clear path forward with the needed benchmarks. They also have demands of reducing the host of regulatory burdens which have been pushed on physician practices to allow them to focus more on patient care. Groups which seem to welcome the proposed delay are citing the need to have to accommodate the sheer number ...
... of government programs and deadlines that Health IT leaders and organizations face. They strongly feel that it will give the healthcare providers and other concerned authorities the much needed time to prepare and fully test their systems for a smooth implementation. However for the ones who are still apprehensive about the whole concept and its implementation, there is unlikely to be any change there. AHIMA is dedicated to support the healthcare community with the transition to a new code set which they feel will lead to, over a period of time, better patient care and reduced costs.

For the providers who are convinced of the inevitability of ICD-10 implementation and had already started working towards meeting the earlier deadline, this stretch in timeline in most cases is not slowing things down. Quite a lot of them feel that since the process had gathered some steam, it is better to move ahead with the same momentum. They do not want to commit the mistake of decelerating or loosing focus. They do not want to apply brakes to the flow of events, redirect their focus somewhere elsewhere and later find themselves in a position where they have to rush things to meet deadlines. Most of them have planned out the order in which they are proceeding with the work. The extra time, they fear, might only get spent to regain momentum if there is a break in between. For the ones who were struggling with their senior management to get some purchase, this extension in timeline will mean more time to convince them in order to seek a turnaround. In order to plan and strategize better to meet the new timelines, some conferences have been held by Healthcare IT leaders to advice concerned stakeholders on what they should be doing – from choosing the right approach to the best suited platforms and technologies.

Mindfire Solutions has successfully implemented multiple Healthcare projects are Clinical Web application development, Ambulatory Care systems , Medicall billing Software and more in the last 10+ years. We have a strong team of developers and Medical Applications QA Testers who have the required domain expertise to build systems suited Meaningful Use.