| For Immediate release |
RICHMOND, VA— January 26, 2009 Health Risk Partners would like to share information released by the American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC) http://www.aapc.com regarding the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) push back of the implementation date of October 1, 2011 for ICD-10-CM codes to October 1, 2013. The October 1, 2013 date is a firm date, in other words ICD-9 codes will not be able to be used to report services performed after that date. In order to avoid entities from having to maintain the capacity to work with both coding systems after that date, the existence of crosswalks, mapping, and guidelines will enable them to move from ICD-9 to ICD-10 on and after this date. There is a mapping program between ICD-9-CM diagnosis codes and ICD-10-CM located at both the Centers for Disease Control Web page at http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/about/otheract/icd9/icd10cm.htm and the on the CMS Web page at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/ICD10/02_ICD-10-PCS.asp. (HHS appears to have taken the position that the crosswalks and mappings are well on their way to being in place.) The AAPC does not recommend that coders or providers begin their ICD-10 training or implementing new systems in the near future. Beginning in 2013, the AAPC will host up to 8 regional conferences that will be focused on ICD-10, as well as the National Conferences in 2012 and 2013 that will include noteworthy ICD-10 information. Additionally, there will be workshops, audio conferences and distance learning to provide information about the change. For more information please contact Brian Boyce at (804) 381-4166 ext. 315 About Health Risk PartnersHealth Risk Partners, LLC, is a healthcare consulting and technology firm dedicated to helping its clients attain the highest levels of compliance, profitability, and strategic planning. The HRP team has extensive experience working with federal and state healthcare payment methodologies and transforming them into solid business practices for Medicare and Medicaid health plans. HRP helps its clients to manage the Risk Adjustment process for over 1.7 million MA and MAPD lives, including:
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