Code for the Day: Hip-Hip-Hooray! We Have a Final Rule! Y93.45

I've been hanging out in a room with other coders most of the week with piles of cases and lots of discussions about how to code them in ICD-10.  I wanted to get at least one post out this week with a code for the day, but there was really not much I felt inspired to write about.  While many of our discussions did revolve around coder humor, nothing really jumped out at me.

I was about to let it go. It is Friday, after all.  Perhaps something inspiring would happen over the weekend.  Or perhaps the Final Rule for ICD-10 would be published on Friday morning.

Wait... What? The Final Rule?

We've been through a roller coaster with this whole ICD-10 thing.  When I started as a coder in the 90s, there were rumors that ICD-10 was coming any day.  It was already overdue at that time - it should have been implemented in 1989.  And we waited.  And waited.  We went to countless presentations once the draft code sets were underway and in January 2009, just before President Obama took office, we were told it was official - we would be implementing in 2013!  But wait... once President Obama took office, he put everything the Bush administration tried to push through in his last weeks in office on hold.  That hold was temporary, though, and it didn't take long before ICD-10 was back on track. 

And everything was just great and hunky-dory until April of this year.  After spending countless hours, days, and months preparing not only myself, but clients and our state association as well, I was completely deflated.  And even though everyone said not to stop preparing for ICD-10 implementation - even if we had a one-year delay, there was a definite slowdown in the health care community.  I heard rumors of some organizations postponing their ICD-10 budgets.  Some people I've talked to from other organizations who were so anxious to be a part of Colorado's ICD-10 Task Force suddenly stopped coming to meetings.  This was exactly what I was afraid of when the delay was announced.  I didn't want to lose the great momentum I'd seen build up over the last year.

Then this morning, I saw it.  The Final Rule!  And our new date - October 1, 2014.  It's official.  And while I haven't had time to read it yet, it is printed out and ready to be perused over the weekend. My first reaction was to cheer - to tell everyone I could think of that ICD-10 is a go.  So I spread the word to my coworkers, our state association, and Colorado's ICD-10 Task Force.  And then I broke out the purple pom pons because it's coming.  For real this time (we hope)!

So here it is, for everyone who has been preparing for ICD-10 - the code for the day:

• Y93.45, Activity, cheerleading

Cheer on!  Hip-hip-hooray!  It's the end of the questionable delay!

If you would like to peruse the final rule, you can find it here: https://s3.amazonaws.com/public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2012-21238.pdf.