Psychiatry Coding & Reimbursement Alert

Postponement of implementation date eases pressure on practices.

If you were anxiously waiting to know when you will have to initiate using ICD-10 codes in your psychiatry practice, you can now breathe easy as CMS has officially released the implementation date.

"We had previously covered the announcement (on Feb. 16, 2012) from HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius that the government intended to delay the implementation date for ICD-10 code sets." Now, after a delay of almost eight months, CMS, on Aug. 24, has announced the new date for ICD-10 code set implementation as Oct. 1, 2014.

That's one year later than the October 2013 date by which psychiatry practices (and other 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 proposed. 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 this new code set.

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.