Many physicians have voiced concern in recent months regarding the looming deadline for adopting the ICD-10 codes. Combined with deadlines for adopting electronic health records, which fall around the same time, many have said the burden is too great.

In fact, the American Medical Association recently called on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to delay implementation.

However, not everyone is so concerned. Steve Sisko, an IT consultant, told Healthcare IT News that ICD-10 implementation will not be as bad as most physicians are predicting. This is because specialists will only need to learn the codes that are relevant to their practice, not the entire new list.

"They say '70,000 ICD codes we'll have to know,' well, that's BS because if you’re an orthopedic surgeon, there are subsets you don't need to know; you don't need to learn about other specialties' codes," Sisko told the news source.

He added that the growing utilization of EHRs will also make data easier and more automated. Combined with the more precise descriptors in the ICD-10 codes, this development could lead more accurate diagnoses and lower administrative costs.