ICD-10 Implementation Deadline Extended to October 1, 2015

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a final rule on July 31, which extended the deadline for the implementation of the tenth revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10), from October 1, 2014 to October 1, 2015. The final rule also requires the continued use of ICD-9 through September 30, 2015.

Originally set to go into effect on October 1, 2013, this final rule marks the second time that HHS is delaying the implementation of ICD-10 to allow “providers, insurance companies and others in the health care industry time to ramp up their operations to ensure their systems and business processes are ready to go on Oct. 1, 2015.”

As explained in the final rule, ICD-10 provides greater specificity of diagnosis-related groups, improves quality measurement and reporting capabilities, improves tracking of illnesses, and reflects greater accuracy of reimbursement for medical services. Specifically, “ICD-10’s granularity will improve data capture and analytics of public health surveillance and reporting, national quality reporting, research and data analysis, and provide detailed data to inform health care delivery and health policy decisions.”

If you have questions regarding ICD-10 implementation or have other legal concerns, please contact our office.