AHIP Calls for More Time for Successful Transition to New Coding Requirements
1 January 1970 America's Health Insurance Plans' (AHIP) President and CEO Karen Ignagni today issued the following statement on the ongoing discussions in Congress regarding improvements to health information technology through the adoption of International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-10 code sets for identifying medical diagnoses and procedures:
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"AHIP member companies share the goal of using health information technology to streamline the health care system and improve the quality of care being provided to millions of Americans. AHIP members are fully committed to the adoption of the new ICD-10 codes sets as an integral step towards achieving this goal.
"However, this massive effort of moving from 24,000 to 207,000 codes calls for all health care stakeholders to completely rework operations for claims processing, provider contracting, medical management, quality reporting, information technology, disease management, and other business and health care activities. Planning for an adequate implementation period will help provide a smooth transition to the new codes by allowing for pilot testing that will help minimize unintended consequences for consumers, physicians and other providers without unnecessarily increasing administrative costs.
"Before this implementation period can begin, the nation first must adopt the new version of the HIPAA electronic transaction standards (ANSI X12 v.5010), which will require at least two years. The 5010 transition is an essential first step in achieving the goals of any legislation which seeks to transform health information technology.
"We hope Congress will carefully consider what is necessary to convert legislative mandates into real world realities and set a realistic timeline for implementation of ICD-10 codes. Given the magnitude of this undertaking, we believe that adoption of these codes should begin in 2012 as recommended by a new study from the Global Business Practice of IBM. This timeframe allows for a three-year period for implementing the ICD-10 code sets.
"Additionally, taking the time to resolve implementation issues necessary to make the ICD-10 transition work will not impede any of the efforts currently under way to improve quality and transparency in the health care system, since these activities work off the current code sets."
To view the complete report click on:
http://www.ahip.org/content/fileviewer.aspx?docid=16508&linkid=141837.
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Source: prnewswire
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