AHIMA Supports CMS’ ICD-10 Final Rule Announcement

The Chicago-based American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) has said that it supports the confirmation by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) of October 1, 2015, as the compliance date for ICD-10.

“Now, everyone in the healthcare community has the necessary certainty to move forward with their implementation processes, including testing and training,” the association said in a statement released on the evening of July 31.

AHIMA further said, “As a long-time supporter of ICD-10, AHIMA is pleased that patients and other stakeholders will soon experience the benefits of a modern and robust coding system with greater specificity about diagnoses and procedures. In addition, ICD-10 will provide improved information for multiple purposes such as population and public health and research. ICD-10 will help maximize the return on investment of national initiatives such as electronic health records, meaningful use and performance measures, which will ultimately lead to improved patient care and better health outcomes at reduced costs.”

That date had widely been anticipated, since the U.S. Congress passed legislation back on March 31, which forced a delay of at least one year in the deadline, from October 1, 2014. At that time, most provider organizations expressed disappointment in the delay and urged the federal government to make a new implementation date as soon as possible.