Survey Shows Reactions for ICD 10 Benefits, More Medical Coding Jobs and Salary Adjustments

It’s full speed ahead with the ICD-10 implementation plans of many hospitals—and of providers of medical billing and coding training programs—even though the compliance date has been moved back. And hospital CIOs are saying the delay is actually warranted.

A recent survey of hospital CIOs found that 72 percent of the respondents believe that the ICD-10 implementation delay is good for their organizations and that 84 percent plan on moving ahead with their preparations. A number of the CIOs, however, indicated that once the new compliance date is set, they will reassess their positions. Some stated that because of the investments they have already made on ICD-10, it is too late to unmake them.

Still, most of the respondents were unconvinced of the value of the implementation, with 80 percent, according to the survey, saying they found no cost/benefit ratio to ICD-10. Many of the respondents also suggested skipping ICD-10 altogether and implementing ICD-11 instead.

ICD-11 as an alternative landed in the news in March when Christopher Chute, M.D., a biomedical informatics professor at the Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic, together with colleagues, suggested in an article in Health Affairs that ICD-11 allowed "more natural classifications" for providers, adding that policy makers should already advance preparations for transitioning to ICD-11.

Even as the industry shifts to another gear following the delay of the ICD-10 compliance date, a survey by consulting firm Integrated Healthcare Strategies showed that 60 percent of hospitals and health systems anticipate staffing adjustments, including the hiring of more coders as indicated by 53.6 percent of the survey respondents.

The survey also revealed that hospital middle management and staff are due for payment increases between 2.6 percent and 2.8 percent this year, while executives are looking at a salary bump of 2.5 percent. According to the survey, almost 90 percent of hospitals and health systems this year are either going to maintain their salary budgets or are increasing them.

The survey said 37.8 percent of the respondents are including physician alignment in their incentive plans. Meeting CMS quality standards, physician use of electronic patient records, and readmission rates are the most common physician alignment goals.

The findings point to the current trend of more medical facilities moving toward more quality incentives that align executives and physicians, according to James Nelson, a managing principal for Sullivan, Cotter and Associates. Nelson made the observation at the annual congress of the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) in Chicago.