ICD-10 & HIPAA 5010: A One-Two Punch

By Ken Congdon, editor in chief, Health IT Outcomes

While presented in our list of the Top 10 Health IT Trends For 2012 as separate entries, one really can't talk about either ICD-10 or HIPAA 5010 without referencing the other. From the very beginning, these two important healthcare initiatives have been irrevocably linked. Both are federally mandated programs that will significantly impact the way providers are paid for their care of patients. Both carry with them strict deadlines for compliance. And both have the potential to save the healthcare industry millions of dollars annually through reduced administrative costs and improved documentation. In fact, the links between these two initiatives are so close that HIPAA 5010 was actually specifically created in a manner that would lay the groundwork for healthcare entities to accommodate and address forthcoming ICD-10 coding changes.