On October 1, 2015, the ICD-9 code sets used to report medical diagnoses and inpatient procedures will be replaced by ICD-10 code sets. To help physicians prepare for this transition, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will be conducting two national testing weeks, from March 2-6 and June 1-5. 2015.

These testing weeks will give trading partners access to the Medicare Administrative Contractors (MAC) and Common Electronic Data Interchange (CEDI) for testing with real-time help desk support.

While participants will not be able to conduct true end-to-end testing at this time, they will be able to test whether the contractor received a claim and learn whether it was accepted or rejected. However, the testing will not allow participants to determine whether the claim will be paid or if payment will be reduced.

Although registration is not required to participate, physicians should contact their local MAC (Noridian in California) for more information about how to submit test claims. Physicians participating in the testing will be able to determine their practices' readiness for ICD-10 implementation and provide CMS with data to help the agency prepare for industry-wide use of the code set next fall.

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) has released 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.