The industry now has less than a year to prepare for ICD-10. By the grace of CMS, the business community experienced a year long reprieve with the new deadline of October 1, 2015. The question now stands, will providers, PMS/EMR vendors, clearinghouses and payers be ready for the “final “ rollout of ICD-10 in October 2015. Like it or not, the industry will need to be ready at some point and the main burden will fall squarely on the provider. With that being said, it is imperative that providers take the necessary steps to be prepared for this transition. Hiring, training or outsourcing qualified staff will be essential for the transition. Upgrading your PMS/EMR platform may need to occur…providers need to check with their PMS/EMR vendors. Testing with your clearinghouses and payers will be a must. Most have tools to assist with this process. Planning for delayed payments, and rejected claims will be essential. Showing patience to your colleagues and staff during this transition will be a necessity. Starting today, if you haven’t already, is the best thing you can do to be prepared in October 2015 and to minimize the pain of this new transition.