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It is now 2013 and that means healthcare providers will be ramping up their efforts to prepare for the ICD-10 coding classification transition scheduled for October 1, 2014. Providers are scrambling to be prepared in all ways.

As October 1, 2014 approaches, many are working hard preparing for the ICD-9 to ICD-10 coding classification transition. To not be ready would put HIPAA-covered healthcare organizations in a dire position – one without operating capital. Noncompliance would prohibit them from billing for services rendered.

Every year new challenges present themselves. Sometimes it is in technology, sometimes it is in process, and sometimes it is all of the above. This year and most likely next year, the biggest challenge healthcare organizations are facing involves the ICD-10 coding classification transition. With the deadline postponed to October 2014, that gives an extra year to worry, and plan.

Many articles have been written here and other places about the ICD-10 coding classification transition and the fast approaching deadline of October 2014. Thorough and complex information has been provided to healthcare organizations to help them prepare for this huge change.

Medical professionals are always concerned about healthcare fraud and with the impending ICD-10 transition, this concerns increases. Detection relies on complex algorithms to detect outliers in claims data, but the concern is that ICD-10 may challenge these algorithms and render them less than efficient.

With the ICD-10 conversion less than two years away, there are pressing issues for providers looking to implement the new coding classification system. At the top of the “to-do” list is education and training for the staff who will be directly involved in using the new ICD-10 codes.

ICD-10 is a frequent topic, and the challenges of the transition continue to stay on the minds and lips of most healthcare professionals. Some physicians are feeling the frustration of losing quality patient healthcare time to handle the coding and technical side of this update.

The ICD-10 transition will require new technology and workflow adjustments for everyone involved. The implementation is set for October 1, 2014 and will have five times the number of codes than its predecessor.

As preparations continue for the ICD-10 conversation, a review of current usage of ICD-9 codes can be helpful in planning for the new state of affairs on Octover 1, 2014.

Many were anxious when the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced a one-year delay for ICD-10 in February 2012 – pushing the date back to October 1, 2014. Some still are, but a few healthcare leaders pushed forward with their implementation plans and schedules.