What is true regarding the implementation of ICD-10-CM?

The implementation of ICD-10-CM indeed had a mandatory transition date for HIPAA-covered entities on October 1, 2015. This change marked an essential update in the coding system used for diagnosing and classifying health conditions, enhancing the detail and specificity of the codes used in healthcare settings.

ICD-10-CM (International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision, Clinical Modification) was adopted to provide a more comprehensive coding structure compared to its predecessor, ICD-9-CM. This transition was aimed at improving the quality of data collected about health care services, ultimately contributing to better patient care management.

The assertion that ICD-10-CM would replace CPT coding is not accurate, as CPT (Current Procedural Terminology) is a distinct coding system used primarily for reporting medical, surgical, and diagnostic procedures and services. Thus, while both coding systems are vital in the healthcare arena, ICD-10-CM does not replace CPT but rather is used alongside it for different purposes.

Given this context, the statement regarding the mandatory transition for HIPAA-covered programs is correct, while the statement about replacing CPT coding is not, making the selection of the first statement as the correct answer appropriate.