CMS is reminding providers of the Version 5010 standard that will be enforced beginning April 1, according to an AAPC report.

The Medical Group Management Association recently sent a letter to Department of Health and Human Service Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, saying that if the government does not rectify the current problems with the transition to HIPAA Version 5010 electronic transaction standards, physician practices may face "significant cash flow disruptions, operational difficulties…or even the prospect of closing their practices."

Come Oct. 1, 2013, the healthcare landscape will be bidding adieu to a friend that has been around for more than 40 years: ICD-9.

CMS' Office of E-Health Standards and Services will not initiate enforcement of Version 5010 transaction standards for hospitals, physician practices and other HIPAA-covered entities until March 31, 2012, according to a CMS news release (pdf).