AHIMA is aware, Bowman notes, that some physician groups “were struggling with moving forward with ICD-10, but our message to the industry is for people to continue working toward implementation. CMS has made it pretty clear that there’s not going to be a delay or a grace period.”
In response to the AMA action, a spokesperson for CMS says, “Implementation of this new coding system will mean better information to improve the quality of healthcare, and more accurate payments to providers. CMS is giving significant transition time and flexibility to providers to switch over, and we will continue to work with the healthcare community to ensure successful compliance.”
Gretchen Henkel is a freelance writer based in California.