“There are no more delays and the system will go live Oct. 1. Let’s face it guys, we’ve delayed it several times, and it’s time to move on.” — CMS Administrator Marylin Tavenner.

Delivering a keynote in February at the Health Information and Management Systems Society’s annual conference, Ms. Tavenner seemed dedicated to finally implementing ICD-10 in 2014 — something the rest of the industrialized world started doing some 20 years ago.

The implementation of the new set of diagnosis codes has been the subject of intense debate in the healthcare world. The problem centers on a fundamental disagreement about the benefit of replacing the ICD-9 code — a set of diagnosis codes which many specialists find incomplete — with the more precise and complex ICD-10 set.

Proponents say implementing ICD-10 will allow for closer analysis of medical procedures, and provide data for relevant research and predictive modeling. Opponents cite the complexity of the new code set as well as its cost — which may be enough to put some smaller practices out of business — as grounds for avoiding its implementation outright.

There are numerous studies asserting the healthcare industry was unprepared for the October 2014 deadline. It’s somewhat surprising then that a Deloitte poll of more than 1,000 healthcare professionals found 58 percent were disappointed by ICD-10′s most recent delay.

Though they weren’t represented in the poll, students pursuing health information management degrees likely agree with these professionals. For students in particular, this latest ICD-10 delay is disruptive to their job prospects and future goals.

In the build up to the vote on the sustainable growth rate and ICD-10 delay, the American Health Information Management Association cited the 25,000 students who have been learning to code exclusively using ICD-10 as a reason to remove the delay from the vote. While the AHIMA number cites students pursuing their undergraduate degree, the Association of Schools of Allied Health Professions estimates that there are 40,000 scholars and current professionals studying at community colleges and going through professional accreditation programs who will be affected.

Most educational programs have transitioned from trying to teach both ICD-9 and ICD-10 to solely teaching ICD-10. Teaching both codes sets simultaneously makes for a massive workload for both educators and students, partly because ICD-10 requires a more extensive grasp of anatomy. After ICD-10′s 2013 delay, and given statements such as Marylin Tavenner’s declaration above, educators and students must have felt sure that 2014 would truly be the year of ICD-10.

Unfortunately, that’s off the table. Shortly after ICD-10 was delayed again, the Commission on Certification for Health Informatics and Information Management stated it would stall any ICD-10 testing for accreditation until the new code set was officially implemented.

Many providers, payers and vendors breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing about the delay. However, the students who have been preparing for ICD-10 now find themselves unable to take the certification. Instead, they’re left scrambling to learn ICD-9 so they can get a job before that coding system becomes obsolete next year.

It’s a strange way to reward the one group in healthcare that may have been truly prepared for ICD-10. There might still be some hope for these students though. Thirty percent of the respondents from the aforementioned Deloitte study reported that this year’s delay would not change their implementation timetable for ICD-10.

Though the idea that select groups of payers, providers and vendors might simply move to ICD-10 remains uninvestigated, students with a heavy knowledge of the new code system could land themselves a position as a member of a transition team. Forward-thinking practices and hospitals will no doubt be coordinating their transition plans throughout the upcoming year. EMR companies as well will need ICD-10 fluent staff for both internal preparation and for help preparing their clients.

For current students, that’s certainly a better option than just trying again next year.

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Originally published on: Becker’s Hospital Review

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