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So what is this thing called ICD-10 and why is it impacting so many people? ICD-10, an international disease coding system, is mandated for adoption in the U.S. by Oct. 1, 2014. At least that is the current deadline. There have many been key players in this arena speak out against a different, usually farther out, deadline. The current and soon-to-be outdated ICD-9 disease coding system is made up of only 1/5 the number of disease codes the new ICD-10 contains. This huge change will impact many avenues of the healthcare system.

Information Management (HIM) technology and service has received the highest scores for provider perception that its precyseCode(TM) computer assisted coding (CAC) solution will meet their needs. Precyse was recognized for their strong technology in comparison to competing vendors. With ICD-10 looming on the horizon on some unforeseen date, the difference between ICD-9 and ICD-10 can be daunting and foreign to those attempting to prepare for the transition. At its core, the difference is five times the number of codes.

The American Medical Association has stated their preference of the ICD-10 implementation date being delayed to Oct. 1, 2015. This was in response to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services decision to postpone the original ICD-10 coding classification transition from October 1, 2013 to October 1, 2014. In fact, they also stated that if stakeholders cannot reach consensus on this matter during this two-year delay period, then the move to ICD-10 should be postponed indefinitely.

The Federation of American Hospitals (FAH) has chimed in on the debate over the delay of the ICD-10 implementation, and they believe the one-year delay will be beneficial. The federation also believes that all segments of the healthcare industry should transition to ICD-10 at the same time.