Physician practices have made little progress in preparing for implementation of the 10th revision of the International Classification of Diseases, according to a report published by the Medical Group Management Association.

(HealthDay)—Physician practices have made little progress in preparing for implementation of the 10th revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10), according to a report published by the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA).

Researchers from MGMA examined the readiness of industry to meet the Oct. 1, 2014, compliance deadline for ICD-10. Responses were included from 1,200 medical groups, representing more than 55,000 physicians.

According to the report, only 4.8 percent of practices have made significant progress in their overall readiness for ICD-10 implementation. Practices reported a lack of response from vendors regarding software changes and lags in internal software testing, both for practice management system vendors and electronic health record vendors. External testing delays were also reported, with only 11.9 percent of respondents reporting that external testing with their clearinghouse had started or was complete. Nearly 60 percent of respondents reported being slightly or not at all confident that their major would be ready for the compliance date. Many respondents reported being concerned about changes to clinical documentation, loss of clinician productivity as a result of implementation, and the costs associated with switching to ICD-10.

"A successful transition to ICD-10 requires coordination between providers and their vendor, clearinghouse, and health plan trading partners," Susan L. Turney, M.D., the president and of MGMA, said in a statement. "Our data suggest that many practices are in the dark in terms of moving forward with ICD-10 as this coordination has not yet occurred."

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