ICD-10 Readiness Varies Greatly Across Healthcare Industry

Healthcare providers have shown a lack of progress regarding ICD-10 preparedness compared with a year ago, according to the latest survey from the Workgroup for Electronic Data Interchange (WEDI).

WEDI has been conducting surveys on ICD-10 readiness since 2009 to gauge industry progress. This most recent survey found vendors are mostly prepared with just one-tenth halfway or less than halfway complete with product development. Compared with last year’s survey, nearly twice as many vendors indicated that their products are already available, while a quarter said their products would not be available until 2015 or an unknown date.

“Based on the survey results, all industry segments appear to have made some progress since October 2013, but the lack of progress by providers, in particular smaller ones, remains a cause for concern as we move toward the compliance deadline,” Jim Daley, WEDI chairman and ICD-10 Workgroup co-chair, said in a statement.

In the October 2013 survey three-fifths of providers had expected to begin external testing by the middle of 2014; however, according to this survey just one-third have actually done so. Now, more than half expect they will not begin external testing until 2015 or an unknown time.

The status of external testing varies greatly depending on the size of the provider organization. More than half of large providers have begun external testing, while most smaller providers do not plan to begin until 2015.

“Delaying compliance efforts reduces the time available for adequate testing, increasing the chances of unanticipated impacts to production,” Daley said. “We urge the industry to accelerate implementation efforts in order to avoid disruption on Oct. 1, 2015.”