New ICD-10 Survey: Despite Minimal Prep, Providers Are Optimistic

Only 21 percent of physicians feel they are currently on track with ICD-10 preparation efforts, according to a new survey from the Duluth, Ga.-based healthcare billing and payment solutions vendor Navicure.

However, the findings also revealed that physician practices are generally optimistic about being ready for the October 1, 2015, transition date. The majority of participants (57 percent) were practice administrators or billing managers from practices with one to 10 providers. The next largest group was billers and coders who made up 14 percent, followed by practice executives (13 percent). The survey was done in conjunction with Porter Research, and was a follow up to surveys conducted in April and November 2013.

The survey found physician practices’ state of ICD-10 preparedness varies widely. The majority (81 percent) are still optimistic they will be ready when the transition happens, and overall optimism toward ICD-10 readiness generally remained high. The findings were centralized around the themes of timing, readiness and challenges, including:

• Physician practices don’t think ICD-10 will be delayed again. The majority of respondents (67 percent) believe the ICD-10 transition will take place on the October 1, 2015, implementation deadline.
• Potential impact on revenue and cash flow is the greatest concern. Fifty-nine percent of respondents noted cash flow was a concern, while 12 percent indicated their greatest concern is staff productivity, followed by 11 percent who are most concerned the transition will be delayed again.
• Respondents feel the biggest challenge will be dealing with unprepared payers. Forty-one percent of respondents cite lack of payer readiness as the most challenging aspect of the transition. End-to-end testing with payers remains a priority for practices, though the percent of those opting out of testing opportunities is increasing.

Interestingly enough, a survey from last September by the Workgroup for Electronic Data Interchange (WEDI) found that providers were advancing more slowly than payers in their ICD-10 prep.