With less than a year until the October 1, 2015, implementation date for ICD-10, physicians should be evaluating the readiness of their practices to transition to the new code set. The one-year delay in implementation came as a welcome reprieve for many physician practices that were struggling to meet the October 2014 deadline. The extent to which physician practices made positive use of the delay remains to be seen.

ICD-10 (The International Classification of Disease tenth revision) is a system of coding created in 1992 as the successor to the previous ICD-9 code set. ICD-10 will include new procedures and diagnoses, which the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services hopes will improve the quality of information available for quality improvement and payment purposes.

The California Medical Association (CMA) will soon be releasing an ICD-10 transition guide, as well as information on live trainings and webinars that will be available for CMA members. Physicians can also take advantage of the American Medical Association’s free ICD-10 resources, including tip sheets that offer guidance on completing an impact assessment, determining training needs, conducting testing and improving documentation.

For additional information about ICD-10, visit the CMS website at www.cms.gov/ICD10.