The American Medical Association initiated a study conducted by the Nachimson Advisors on the cost of implementing ICD-10, which will be nearly three times that predicted in a 2008 study.
The ICD-10 code set includes 68,000 codes and will be a massive undertaking for the healthcare system. The new study predicts that costs incurred for small practices will be $56,639 to $226,105; medium sized practice will be $213,364 to $824,735; and large practice will be $2 million to $8 million.
Around two-thirds of physician practices are projected to fall into the upper range of current cost estimates. Practices will incur costs for software upgrades, training staff, practice assessments and testing. They will also experience payment disruption and loss of physician productivity during the switch.
According to CMS, denial rates could increase 100 to 200 percent during the early stages of ICD-10, and software vendor readiness for the October implementation date is lagging.
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