The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today announced a proposed rule that would extend the compliance for adopting ICD-10 diagnosis and procedure codes until October 1, 2014, a full year beyond the current deadline.
The proposed ICD-10 rule includes the new deadline, as well as a standard for a unique health plan identifier, a National Provider Identifier requirement, and a data element that would serve as an "other entity" identifier, according to HHS.
The rule was developed by the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Office of E-Health Standards to establish standards for electronic health care transactions under the HIPAA of 1996. It will affect coding for every facility and healthcare professional covered by HIPAA.
HHS' initial published ICD-10 final rule had set October 1, 2013, as the compliance date for switching from ICD-9. In February, the agency announced its intent to delay the ICD-10 compliance date.
