The Workgroup for Electronic Data Interchange, along with co-sponsor HIMSS, will hold an industrywide summit to develop a new ICD-10 roadmap in light of the recently passed delay.
The delay, which was included in a bill delaying reimbursement cuts to physicians under Medicare's sustainable growth rate formula, prevents HHS from requiring providers to switch to the new coding system before Oct. 1, 2015, one year after the original transition date.
While many industry stakeholders were angered by the delay, WEDI sees it as an opportunity for providers to ensure readiness.
"WEDI believes that the delay in the ICD-10 compliance date will help avoid potential disruptions in the healthcare system by allowing all affected entities more time to complete the necessary work and conduct extensive testing," said WEDI President and CEO Devin Jopp, EdD, in a news release. However, the group believes healthcare providers should continue to work toward ICD-10 readiness to take full advantage of the extra time. "It is very important that the industry utilize this additional time to identify effective and actionable implementation steps to maximize use of the additional time in order to minimize the cost on impacted organizations and maximize the benefit. WEDI looks forward to helping to bring the industry together to identify common strategies that we can use to help ensure that we all achieve ICD-10 compliance."
The summit, to be held April 30 in Reston, Va., is one of the ways WEDI hopes to keep the industry moving forward. In addition to HIMSS, WEDI has engaged the American Academy of Professional Coders and the Professional Association of Health Care Office Management as co-sponsors.
More Articles on ICD-10:
Stranded in No-Man's Land: What the ICD-10 Delay Means for Healthcare Providers
4 Most-Read Stories on ICD-10
ICD-10: The Epitome of U.S. Healthcare Dysfunction