A new report finds that the vast majority of medical practices are looking to swap out their billing and management software systems ahead of the ICD-10 deadline and other pressing concerns.

The study, entitled "Medical Practice Management Software BuyerView 2014" and conducted by Software Advice, evaluated a random group of 385 medical offices and found that nearly two-thirds — 63 percent — were either planning to, or were in the midst of, replacing their practice management or billing systems. The predominant factor in making this decision was ICD-10, with 25 percent of participants citing a current lack of compliance with the new coding system as a reason for updating their software.

According to industry news source Health IT Outcomes, the Software Advice report also found that:

• 70 percent said they wanted "to improve organization and/or efficiency" by installing new practice management software
• 70 percent also claimed they wanted a package that integrated billing and scheduling
• 40 percent recognized the important of EHR integration to overall software needs
• 21 percent of subjects had been using only paper and "other manual methods" for billing and management duties
• While those polled ran the gamut of practices, the second most-represented group was chiropractic offices (16 percent).

"Included in the important takeaways from this report is the emphasis on compliance as a major driver not only of practice management purchases in general, but specifically of replacements," writes Christine Kern for Health IT Outcomes. "Despite the implementation deadline having been extended to October 2015, we're seeing practices give a lot of thought to preparation, and they're realizing the software they use will play a major role in their own readiness."

Adopting new chiropractic practice management software and updating chiropractic medical billing can help ensure up-to-date records and more efficient administrative duties for a clinic.