Healthcare is bursting with issues demanding physicians' attention, but ICD-10 and price transparency are topping the list for 2015, according to a Forbes report.
ICD-10 implementation was derailed at the last minute this year, but thus far the Oct. 1, 2015 deadline remains on track. The financial and operational crunch expected to accompany the new code set has been hotly debated. Some organizations claim minimal impact, as well as the benefit of increased specificity, while others decry the mandated switch as burdensome and unnecessary. Regardless of which camp physicians sit in, they will need to prepare for the transition and its repercussions.
Price transparency in healthcare, or the lack thereof, has been making headlines all year. From patient sticker shock to the complexity of actually revealing prices, transparency in the news is all the rage. Physicians may take the first steps to bring more transparency to their practices, or they may need to prepare themselves for required transparency. Larger providers may decide to shed light on prices or states may even enact legislation requiring physicians and other providers to post prices for the most common procedures and tests.
The Forbes article also lists consolidation, strain on the patient-physician relationship and access to healthcare as the biggest physician issues of 2015.