On October 1, 2014, 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 & Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced a limited national testing week for current direct submitters (providers and clearinghouses) from March 3 - 7, 2014.

This testing week will give trading partners access to the Medicare Administrative Contractors (MACs) 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. The testing will not allow participants to determine whether the claim will be paid or if payment will be reduced.

Billing experts advise physicians to start preparing for the ICD-10 transition now if they haven’t yet done so. Steps to take include upgrading software systems, testing those updated systems, training staff and updating payer contracts and fee schedules. The American Medical Association (AMA) offers free educational resources that can help physicians get started. The California Medical Association has also partnered with AAPC to provide various ICD-10 training courses to members at a discounted rate.

Registration for the March ICD-10 testing will be required, but currently neither Noridian nor CMS have registration information available.

More information is available in on both Noridian’s and CMS’s websites.