First few Article Sentences
Despite protestations from the healthcare sector, CMS continues to confirm the October 2014 deadline for ICD-9 to be replaced with ICD-10 code sets. One group that has refused to play ostrich is the California ICD-10 Collaborative. The Collaborative’s mission “healthcare stakeholders together to work collectively to ensure the successful integration and implementation of ICD-10” is an effective group of healthcare providers, payers, professional organizations and vendors. 41 member organizations (as of the end of September 2013) have come together to take advantage of the efficiencies that come from collaboration, knowing that the ability to reduce time and costs related to compliance benefits all of the California organizations involved.
CA ICD-10 membership is open to anyone who’s in the healthcare sector and is doing business in California. The more than 130 individuals representing member organizations comprise 7 payers, 19 providers, 4 government agencies, 5 vendors, and 7 professional industry organizations. Participants are divided into workgroups governed by a Steering Committee. Then the workgroups – Communications & Outreach, Education & Training, and Testing – each have payer and provider co-leads, providing valuable insight from both sides during the ICD-10 implementation process.