Precyse Encourages Clients to Continue ICD-10 Preparations

Amid distractions, healthcare organizations must remain steadfast and continue their ICD-10 implementation plans
Wayne, PA and Alpharetta, GA Jun 28, 2013 — Precyse, a leader in Health Information Management (HIM) technology and services, continues to encourage current and prospective clients to move forward with their ICD-10 preparations. Despite recent distractions, such as the American Medical Association (AMA) House of Delegates agreeing to lobby Congress and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for a 2-year “grace period” for physicians to ensure accurate implementation following the October 2014 deadline, the deadline is holding fast. Farzad Mostashari, MD, the national coordinator for healthcare IT, stated last week there would be no extension of the deadline.
While these ramblings continue, there is a clear picture emerging that healthcare organizations are not ready. According to two separate recent surveys — one from the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) and the other from the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) — ICD-10 readiness is lagging.
“There is certainly much hard work in the form of clinical documentation improvement, training and development, process improvement and systems testing to be completed between now and October 2014. We are telling our clients that now is not the time to procrastinate,” said Chris Powell, president of Precyse. “As physicians, hospitals and payers manage the ICD-10 transition amid other pressing initiatives, it is critical that we remind ourselves why ICD-10 is so important. ICD-10 gives physicians and hospitals better information about patient populations for use in quality and outcomes programs to help improve patient health, while allowing them to be appropriately reimbursed for the care provided. Staying resolute on this cutover date allows our industry to focus on the health of our nation’s hospitals, physicians and the patients whom we all ultimately serve.”