Results From WEDI's ICD-10 Industry Readiness Survey Released

Vendors and health plans continue to make progress, although testing and other tasks are being pushed to 2015; providers show lack of progress from Oct. 2013 survey

The Workgroup for Electronic Data Interchange (WEDI), the nation’s leading nonprofit authority on the use of health IT to create efficiencies in healthcare information exchange, announced the release of its findings from its August 2014 ICD-10 Industry Readiness Survey. The latest survey results are based on responses from 514 respondents, consisting of 324 providers, 87 vendors and 103 health plans.

Since 2009, WEDI has conducted nine ICD-10 readiness surveys in an effort to gain a broad perspective on the readiness status for different sections of the industry, and to gauge how quickly they are progressing towards the Oct. 1, 2015 implementation deadline. The full survey results are contained in WEDI’s September 19 letter to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) which can be viewed online via the WEDI website. Highlights from the latest survey findings include:

• Vendor product development: About 40 percent of vendors indicated they are complete with product development. This is an improvement over the October 2013 survey.
• Vendor product availability: More than 25 percent of vendors responded that their products would not be ready until 2015 or responded ‘unknown.’   
• Health plan impact assessments: Nearly 75 percent of health plans had completed their impact assessment.
• Health plan testing: More than 50 percent of health plans have already begun external testing compared to less than 25 percent in the prior survey.
• Provider impact assessments: About 50 percent of the providers indicated they have completed their impact assessment—essentially the same number as in the October 2013 survey.
• Provider testing: About 35 percent of providers have begun external testing, while in the October 2013 survey about 60 percent had expected to begin by the middle of 2014.
• External testing approach: About 60 percent of health plans expect to test with a sample of providers, while about 20 percent indicated they will test with a majority of providers.

“Based on the survey results, all industry segments appear to have made some progress since October 2013, but the lack of progress by providers, in particular smaller ones, remains a cause for concern as we move toward the compliance deadline,” said Jim Daley, WEDI chairman and ICD-10 Workgroup co-chair. “Delaying compliance efforts reduces the time available for adequate testing, increasing the chances of unanticipated impacts to production. We urge the industry to accelerate implementation efforts in order to avoid disruption on Oct. 1, 2015.”

WEDI will continue its efforts to move the industry forward and plans to continue its surveys to gauge industry readiness. WEDI has conducted several ICD-10 forums—the most recent of which was in July 2014—and plans to hold additional events in 2015, as well as continue to provide educational opportunities and produce work products to assist the industry in preparing for ICD-10 implementation. More information on WEDI events and ICD-10 work products are available on the WEDI website.

About WEDI
The Workgroup for Electronic Data Interchange (WEDI) is the leading authority on the use of health IT to improve healthcare information exchange in order to enhance the quality of care, improve efficiency, and reduce costs of our nation’s healthcare system. WEDI was formed in 1991 by the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) and was designated in the 1996 HIPAA legislation as an advisor to HHS. WEDI’s membership includes a broad coalition of organizations, including: hospitals, providers, health plans, vendors, government agencies, consumers, not-for-profit organizations, and standards development organizations. For more information, visit www.wedi.org.