In March, CMS concluded its first successful week of so-called end-to-end testing of ICD-10 codes. The set, which involved nearly 15,000 test claims submitted by 660 healthcare providers, was remarkably successful - nearly 81 percent were processed cleanly and accepted. For all the moaning over provider and payer preparedness, this seems like an achievement worth celebrating. But once again, we are hearing calls for CMS to provide a "grace period" or a "hardship exemption" during which providers could use either ICD-10 or ICD-9. With ICD-11 already on the WHO's horizon for 2017, this sort of defiance wins American providers nothing but increased isolation from the rest of the medical community. I get it; we are all fatigued by the on-again, off-again status. But delaying the inevitable isn't going to help healthcare.
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