Otolaryngology Coding Alert

One year delay is expected to allow practices more time to prepare.

It's been nearly eight months since HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced on Feb. 16 that the government would be delaying the deadline for ICD-10 diagnosis coding, but failed to designate a new implementation date. But now you can mark your calendar in pen, since CMS confirmed on Aug. 24 that ICD-10 will take effect on Oct. 1, 2014.

That's one year later than the October 2013 date by which ob-gyn practices previously had been preparing to implement their new diagnosis coding systems.

"Many provider groups have expressed serious concerns about their ability to meet the Oct. 1, 2013, compliance date," CMS said in a release last spring, when the delay was first announced. The one-year delay is meant to give "providers and other covered entities more time to prepare and fully test their systems to ensure a smooth and coordinated transition to these new code sets."

The change was announced in the Sept. 5 edition of the Federal Register, which you can read by visiting http://federalregister.gov/a/2012-21238.