As reported in the Health IT Strategist, HHS announced yesterday that it will go ahead with the Bush administration’s plan to push back compliance with a rule calling for updating Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act standards governing electronic transactions to Jan. 1, 2012, and for the replacement of ICD-9 codes with the ICD-10 codes to Oct. 1, 2013. The original plans called for Oct. 1, 2010, and Oct. 1, 2011, compliance dates, respectively. According to a January 16th statement from HIMSS, implementation of ICD-10 and the Updated Transaction Code Sets is intended to improve patient care quality and data reporting, enhance claim processing, as well as promote interoperability across all industry stakeholders.