There has been quite a bit of displeasure in the medical community over the postponement of the implementation of the ICD-10 coding system. As a result, many health care providers are wondering what they should do next, given that they have likely already spent money trying to update their systems to be in compliance with the new codes.

Recently, we wrote on this subject and advised providers on two options for how to proceed: Staying the course or ditching compliance altogether. There are two other choices that providers can make in response to the ICD-10 delay:

• Slow down your compliance efforts: Given that they implementation of ICD-10 is pushed back at least one more year, it means that your firm can slow down your compliance process, which may end up saving you money. For example, It would mean that any staff devoted to this process wouldn't have to take overtime pay in order to meet the deadline.
• Try to be flexible: You may want to examine your compliance efforts and figure out which parts can proceed as planned, even in the absence of a deadline, and which can be extended to next year.

The choice that providers make depends entirely on where they are in terms of ICD-10 compliance and how they feel comfortable devoting resources to this issue. In any event, whether you decide to stretch out compliance or stick to your original schedule, you'll absolutely need chiropractic EMR software, as sooner or later ICD-10 will come into effect. When this happens, firms that have not yet changed over to the new coding system will be the least equipped to take on new cases and preserve their revenue stream.