The federal government has finalized a one-year delay for the nationwide conversion to ICD-10 code sets beginning Oct. 1, 2014.  HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has announced a final rule establishing a one-year delay - from Oct. 1, 2013, to Oct. 1, 2014 in the use of the ICD-10 Coding system.   

HHS said the extra time would allow healthcare organizations—small organizations in particular—adequate time to get ready for the changeover.

The shear change in the volume of codes will be daunting.  ICD-9 has 13,000 diagnosis codes and 4,000 procedure codes totaling 17,000 codes, while ICD -10 has 68,105 diagnosis codes and 72,589 procedure codes totaling 140,694 codes.  The ICD -10 codes will also have more digits and will be in different formats.

 "By delaying the compliance date of ICD-10 from October 1, 2013, to October 1, 2014, we are allowing more time for covered entities to prepare for the transition to ICD-10 and to conduct thorough testing," HHS said in the rule. "By allowing more time to prepare, covered entities may be able to avoid costly obstacles that would otherwise emerge while in production."  The rule is one of a series of changes intended to cut red tape in the health care system.

The purpose of ICD-10 is to provide healthcare professionals with the ability to better track diagnoses and procedures. The additional information that’s captured by utilizing ICD-10 codes will enable the exchange of U.S. health care data with other nations that are already using ICD-10.  Entities covered by HIPAA are required to use the ICD-10 codes.  For more information on the final rule, click here.