With the ICD-10 transition deadline now just two years away, providers and payers have finally begun tackling the project in earnest, according to a new survey from the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA), which shows 85 percent of organizations either planning for or implementing ICD-10 coding.

With the ICD-10 transition deadline now just two years away, providers and payers have finally begun tackling the project in earnest, according to a new survey from the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA), which shows 85 percent of organizations either planning for or implementing ICD-10 coding.

While the survey shows a significant increase -- up from 62 percent a year ago – in the number of health organizations that have at least begun conducting impact analyses, there is still a lot of work to be done before the Oct. 1, 2013 compliance date.

[See also: ICD-10 involves an ‘enormous amount of complexity’.]

“Because the scope and complexity of the transition are significant, it is critical for organizations to plan their implementation strategies carefully in order to leverage ICD-10 investments and move beyond mere compliance to attain a strategic advantage,” noted a press release from AHIMA detailing the survey results. “Organizations that are not prepared could face major billing headaches and loss of compensation since claims submitted after the October 2013 deadline not using the upgraded coding language will be rejected.”

Since the last survey, in August of last year, organizations have also advanced in creating budgets for ICD-10, as well as assessing what the organization’s training needs will be for implementation. Even though many more are doing this work, only 49 percent of respondents who have begun their planning reported that they have begun to make changes based on their assessments.

Lack of resources were mentioned as a roadblock to conducting planning and implementation activities among the in-patient respondents, while other organizations noted the largest concern was a lack of executive commitment in the non in-patient settings.

[See also: AHIMA goes for global reach.]

The survey also found that AHIMA was the preferred source of information for 85.7 percent of respondents from in-patient facilities and 71.7 percent of respondents from other segments such as physicians’ private practices.

In addition to the regular survey of provider preparedness for ICD-10, AHIMA also provides detailed step-by-step guidelines, including implementation milestones, recommended impact analyses to determine budgeting and training levels needed and “Training the Trainer” programs, among others.