ED Coding and Reimbursement Alert

Plus: CMS has proposed freezing the ICD-9 code set after next year.If you were hoping that the Oct. 1, 2013 ICD-10 implementation date wasn't set in stone, you are out of luck. That's the word from CMS during a June 15 CMS Open Door Forum entitled "ICD-10 Implementation in a 5010 Environment.""There will be no delays on this implementation period, and no grace period," said Pat Brooks, RHIA, with CMS's Hospital and Ambulatory Policy Group, during the call. "A number of you have contacted us about rumors you've heard about postponement of that date or changes to that date, but I can assure you that that is a firm implementation date," she stressed. Brooks indicated that the rumor about a potential delay in the implementation date continues to persist throughout the physician community, and recommended that practice managers alert their physicians to the fact that the rumor is untrue.The Oct. [...]