Survey: One Third of Physician Practices Yet to Begin ICD-10 Preparations

Navicure, a medical claims clearinghouse for physician practices, recently announced the results of the ICD-10 Readiness Survey it deployed in conjunction with Porter Research. The survey found that 33% of respondents from physician practices have not started preparing for the October 1, 2014, ICD-10 implementation deadline. In addition, 21% of those practices that have started preparing feel like they are already behind.

More than 500 respondents from physician practices of various sizes and specialties across the United States answered the online survey, which asked about ICD-10 preparation progress, resource availability, and technology readiness. The majority of participants (61%) identified themselves as practice administrators or billing managers.

Other survey key findings include the following:

• Of those respondents who haven’t started preparations, 36% believe there is more than enough time to prepare; 26% stated they do not have the time, staff, or training resources available to begin ICD-10 preparations; and 22% don’t know where to start ICD-10 planning.

• Practices consider training (45%) and lack of payer readiness (30%) to be the biggest ICD-10 challenges.

• Fifty-two percent of practices are most concerned about disruptions to cash flow once the new code set goes into effect.  

“For those practices that have not started or are behind in their ICD-10 preparations, if they act immediately, they can still catch up,” says Ken Bradley, vice president of strategic planning at Navicure. “Practices should lean on technology vendors for guidance. In particular, clearinghouses will be a critical lynchpin since they can test with both physician practices and payers and can address any cash flow issues prior to the transition.”

Jim Denny, founder, president, and CEO of Navicure adds, “The survey results confirmed that practices are extremely concerned about ICD-10 training. We can help. Navicure continues to invest heavily in ICD-10 education and training for all medical practices. We want both clients and prospective clients to be prepared for this monumental change, and we feel we can play an important part.”

To view the complete survey results and analysis, visit www.navicure.com/survey.

Source: Navicure