Consequences of the ICD-10 Delay

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced last week that they intend to push back the ICD-10 healthcare compliance deadline by one year to October 2014. Naturally, this news was greeted with mixed reactions. Many say the delay is necessary as organizations struggle with a massive undertaking to meet the 2013 deadline. Opponents to the delay point out that the U.S. is the last major country to switch over.

A recent study from Edifecs returned some interesting numbers. Attendees of the 2012 ICD-10 Summit were surveyed on the possible delay and indicated an overall opposition. In fact, 64 percent say a delay will not improve readiness, 60 percent say a one-year delay would have a negative impact, and 69 percent say a two-year delay would be potentially catastrophic. You can view the full results summary here.

What are your opinions? Do you agree with the majority surveyed?