Physician groups are even further behind the 5010 implementation curve than hospitals are. A majority of the respondents to a recent survey by the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) said that they have not had critical software upgrades done nor scheduled testing of the new transaction set with health plans.
Fewer than half of the 349 practices that responded to the poll said their practice management software vendors had reached out to them about the 5010 transaction set required under the HIPAA regulations. However, about two-thirds of the groups had contacted their vendors about it.
Most alarming, nearly 60 percent of the respondents said they hadn't begun implementation of the 5010 set. By Jan. 1, 2012, all HIPAA-covered entities, including physicians and medical groups, will be required to use the 5010 set in all electronic transactions, including claims submission, eligibility checking, claims status inquiries, and electronic remittance advice.
Twenty-three percent of the respondents said they didn't know what had to be done with their software, 22 percent thought their current program could handle 5010, and 6 percent believed their software would have to be replaced.
Fifty-six percent of the respondents had not yet started internal testing. Nearly 34 percent said they planned to test the 5010 set between now and the end of the year, and 8 percent said they were already doing it. More than 60 percent of respondents said they hadn't scheduled tests with health plans, while less than 4 percent were already testing the new transaction set with any health plans.
The most recent HIMSS readiness survey shows that about a third of hospitals either do not have a plan for 5010 implementation or will put off testing until the fourth quarter of this year.
To learn more:
--See the results of the MGMA survey
--Read the Healthcare IT News article
Most providers not getting ready for 5010
HIPAA 5010 transition big challenge for hospitals