There’s a reason why ICD-10 is considered one of the core topics at HIMSS14 in Orlando.

“In less than one year, on October 1, anyone covered by HIPAA must transition to the new ICD-10 coding system. What may seem like another deadline among the many you’re currently grappling with, this date affects payments, patient care, and outcomes of care delivery,” says Carla Smith, MA, CNM, FHIMSS, HIMSS Executive Vice President. “Just as with other information technologies now used throughout the healthcare enterprise, ICD-10 coding offers new opportunities to facilitate improved efficiencies and lower costs for providers, payers, and patients.”

Last year, at HIMSS13 in New Orleans, CMS Administrator Marilyn Tavenner stated that the ICD-10 compliance date of Oct. 1 was solid. Tavenner is confirmed to deliver a keynote address at HIMSS14, on Thursday, Feb. 27, where she is anticipated to share insights on ICD-10 compliance and other topics.

Of course, HIMSS14 will offer myriad live and on-demand education sessions and other opportunities to help attendees better prepare themselves for the looming October deadline.

Education kicks off early with the ICD-10 Pre-Conference Symposium on Sunday, Feb. 23. This immersive, day-long program provides attendees with practical ideas and solutions to the biggest challenges when converting from ICD-9 to ICD-10, including risk mitigation, organizational planning, go-live monitoring and much more.

“Complying with the October 2014 deadline requires an integrated, comprehensive enterprise approach; this transition is not ‘IT only,’” Smith explains. “It truly touches every department in a care delivery setting from finance to pharmacy, and yes, to the patient. Because of financial investment requirements, the burden on staff, and disruption to the patient care workflow, the challenge can be especially daunting for independent clinical practices.”

General and on-demand sessions tackle specific areas of ICD-10 conversion, including technology optimization, analytics, and real-world examples of moving beyond predictive modeling to identify ICD-10 risk areas and using networks to intuitively analyze the transition to ICD-10.

Click any of the links above to explore more. You can also use the Education Search feature on the HIMSS14 web site.

Related Information & Additional Resources:

• Before, during and after HIMSS14 be sure to explore the ICD-10 PlayBook, a HIMSS online resource that provides critical information to assist hospitals, ambulatory centers, practitioners, and their staff in transitioning to ICD-10. The PlayBook enables stakeholders to focus on the specific elements of the transition with which they’re having the most trouble. The PlayBook also provides numerous links to other sources of information, while also offering additional training in the form of webinars and podcasts.

• On Feb. 26, members of the HIMSS ICD-10 Task Force will be at HIMSS Spot in Lobby C to answer attendees’ questions on ICD-10 and the immediate focus of meeting the Oct. 1 deadline. Click here to add this event to your schedule.