6 Resources to Learn about ICD-10 Testing

October 8, 2014 Written By Mike Cooper

With the ICD-10 countdown clock again ticking toward the October 1, 2015, compliance deadline, I’m reminded of the rush to complete Y2K projects in 1999. There is a lot of work to do and less than year left to do it.

The deadline represents thousands of hours of testing work for QA professionals and applications teams, although I’m still surprised that most healthcare providers have yet to start external testing, according to the latest industry readiness survey from the Workgroup for Electronic Data Exchange (WEDI).

I have worked in testing and quality assurance for over 15 years, most recently at HP Software, and before that at top companies like T-Mobile USA, FICO and Equifax, so I know the task at hand seems daunting and confusing to some.

But with sufficient QA resources and test planning, providers should be able to meet the deadline and, more importantly, mitigate the initial revenue impact of ICD-10 on their business.

If you are provider, or a dyed-in-the-wool testing professional like me, you’ll want to follow ICD-10 testing developments throughout the next year.  Here are six resources that I will be keeping an eye on:

1. WEDI: Their aforementioned survey offers a timely glimpse into industry readiness for ICD-10. An October 9, 2014, webinar will further break down the survey results. Registration is free.
2. ICD-10 Watch: This is a go-to news resource with practical testing content, like this guide to ICD test preparation.
3. EHR Intelligence:  Another news source with regular content on ICD-10.
4. LinkedIn groups:  There are a few devoted to ICD-10 topics, like this one.
5. National Government Services:  NGS is an industry vendor selected by CMS to develop end-to-end testing best practices to be piloted with ICD-10. Their website includes helpful links to testing news and resources.
6. Twitter:  The hashtag #ICD10 is where I’m finding a lot of the most timely and useful information on ICD-10. (And while you’re checking that out, follow me at @QACooper, and I’ll follow you back.)

If you want to know how Healthcare IT Leaders is helping providers meet their ICD-10 testing needs through our expert resources, including our rural U.S.-based test centers, then I hope you’ll drop me an email.

What online resources are you following to stay on top of ICD-10? Let us know in the comment section below.