By Healthcare Facilities Today

Health information technology leaders have a lot on their plates today and more to come, according to an article on the Modern Healthcare website.

On the horizon: implementing systems to match the federal IT incentive payment program upgrades, satisfying auditors, meeting privacy constraints and preparing for the switch to a huge set of updated diagnostic and procedural codes.

These challenges were  the focus at the recent College of Healthcare Information Management Executives' 2013 Fall CIO Forum in Scottsdale, Ariz., especially the impending nationwide shift to the International Classification of Diseases 10th Revision of diagnostic and procedural codes, according to the article.

The one-year countdown began Oct. 1 for the federally mandated upgrade to the ICD-10 codes, many times more numerous and complex than the ICD-9 codes they will replace. According to Modern Healthcare, it has been deemed a heavier lift for healthcare IT than the Y2K preparations.

Meeting the compliance deadline industrywide will require installation of thousands of new or upgraded systems as well millions of hours of training for coders and clinicians. Several surveys show the healthcare industry is behind schedule on ICD-10.

“What I hope doesn't occur is just-in-time training, because this is of a complexity that the front-line physicians and other clinicians are going to need ample time in training,” CHIME President and CEO Russell Branzell said in the article.

Read the article.