The Chicago-based American Health Information Management Association has issued a statement in response to the findings from a study initiated by a group of provider organizations and conducted by Nachimson Advisors highlighting the costs and time constraints posed by the implementation of ICD-10 codes.
“The American Health Information Management Association has problems with the underlying assumptions upon which the Nachimson study referenced by the Medical Group Management Association is based," said AHIMA CEO Linda Kloss in a written statement. "Obviously the cost of implementation for ICD-10 will only grow the longer we delay initiating that process.”
The study group, which includes the American Medical Association (Chicago) and the Medical Group Management Association (Englewood, Colo.), stated that implementing the new ICD-10 code by 2011 will significantly increase costs for physician practices. It is petitioning HHS to extend the deadline for implementation.
