AHIMA Shines Light On Industry's Next Steps For ICD-10

Expert Advice to Guide Industry at AHIMA’s ICD-10 and CAC Summit

Experts from the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) and other public and private sector leaders will discuss next steps and provide examples of how healthcare organizations are responding to the ICD-10 delay at the AHIMA 2014 ICD-10 and Computer Assisted Coding (CAC) Summit on Tuesday and Wednesday at the Grand Hyatt in Washington, D.C.

The recent passage of the Protecting Access to Medicare Act of 2014, which included delaying implementation of the ICD-10 code set until at least October 1, 2015, left the healthcare industry unsure about the implementation date for ICD-10.

“While we continue to urge the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to announce Oct. 1, 2015, as the new implementation date, we know that ultimately the transition to ICD-10 is inevitable,” said AHIMA CEO Lynne Thomas Gordon, MBA, RHIA, CAE, FACHE, FAHIMA. “This year’s Summit will feature a vigorous discussion of best practices and examples so organizations can continue preparing for ICD-10 while still using ICD-9. AHIMA intends to use the key findings that emerge from the Summit to inform the industry and the government during this time of transition.”

To begin the Summit, AHIMA has added a new early riser session: What Now? Industry Reaction to Latest ICD-10 Delay. Leaders from Kaiser Permanente, Blue Cross Blue Shield Michigan and the University of Utah Hospitals and Clinics will share how their organizations are maintaining momentum for the ICD-10 transition. The panel will be moderated by Sue Bowman, RHIA, CCS, AHIMA’s senior director of coding policy and compliance.

Following the panel, attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions and share how their organizations are dealing with the delay.

Thomas Gordon said that AHIMA continues to champion ICD-10 because the greater specificity it offers will help patients, healthcare providers and the healthcare system. “In order to keep moving forward, AHIMA recommends that organizations prepare by strengthening their clinical documentation improvement programs, working with their vendors on systems readiness, training coders and other stakeholders, and proceeding with dual coding,” Thomas Gordon said. “The knowledge HIM professionals have of ICD-10 is still incredibly valuable as we prepare for the transition.”

The ICD-10 Summit presentations were selected by a panel of industry experts representing physician specialties, providers, and payers. In addition to the opening panel discussion, the Summit will feature presentations from a broad cross-section of influential stakeholders such as providers, payers, and the federal government:

• Denise Buenning, MsM, Office of E-Health Standards and Services, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services: 2014 Countdown: CMS ICD-10 Report on State of the Union
• Rose T. Dunn, MBA, CPA, RHIA, FACHE, FHFMA, FAHIMA, a past AHIMA CEO; currently chief operating officer for First Class Solutions: Catching Up with ICD-10 Implementation: What Should Be on Your Agenda for the Next 18 Months
• Randy Hawk, senior engagement leader in Cerner’s Regulatory Compliance Consulting Group and Rhonda Taller, MHA, principal consultant in the Health Insight and Reform Practice at Siemens: Preparing for ICD-10: Views From Two Vendors
• Godwin Odia, PhD, NHA, RHIA, senior health insurance specialist/states Medicaid programs, ICD-10 implementation lead, Division Of State Systems, Data and Systems Group Center for Medicaid and CHIP Services, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services: State of Medicaid ICD-10 Readiness
• Brian Parkany, ARM, senior director for Aetna’s ICD-10 program and Stacie J. Watson, MBA, Strategic Initiatives, Aetna: ICD-10 Collaborative Testing: Approach, Results, and Lessons Learned
• Donna Pickett, MPH, RHIA, medical classification administrator, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics, Office of Planning and Extramural Programs: The Impact of ICD-10 on Public Health
• Steven Stack, MD, immediate past chair, American Medical Association Board of Trustees: ICD-10, EHRs, and Other Mandates: An Evolving Landscape

About AHIMA
The American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) represents more than 71,000 educated health information management and health informatics professionals in the United States and around the world. AHIMA is committed to promoting and advocating for high quality research, best practices and effective standards in health information and to actively contributing to the development and advancement of health information professionals worldwide. AHIMA’s enduring goal is quality healthcare through quality information. For more information, visit www.ahima.org.