Just in case that little nagging voice in your head cantankerously whispering “HIPAA 5010 … ICD-10,” while you're trying to sleep has taken leave during August, CMS issued a public reminder that the compliance dates are approaching.

In short order: The first recommendation is to achieve HIPAA 5010 Level 1 on January 1, 2011, second is the mandated official 5010 compliance exactly one year later, followed by ICD-10 on October 1, 2013.

[Related: Survival guide for HIPAA 5010: The new medical claims messiah. Also, a Q&A: ICD-10 worst case scenario.]

“The Version 5010 standards and ICD-10 codes are necessary steps to facilitate the national transition to an electronic health care environment,” said CMS Administrator Donald Berwick, M.D, in the statement released this week. “Transitioning to the Version 5010 transaction standards in 2012, and to the ICD-10 codes in 2013, will help accelerate the widespread adoption of health information technology and move the nation toward a more efficient, quality-focused health care system.”

HIPAA 5010 is a CMS suggestion, rather than an actual mandate, but healthcare organizations essentially have to achieve it to reserve 2011 for testing, which CMS and other industry groups such as WEDI (Workgroup for Electronic Data Interchange) recommend. According to recent surveys by HIMSS and ICD10Watch, however, many providers are uncertain about meeting Level 1 by the suggested deadline.

As CMS explains, “the Version 5010 standards also provide the framework needed for use of the revised medical data code sets (ICD-10-CM and ICD-10-PCS), that must be implemented on Oct. 1, 2013.”

Even as the clock ticks, ICD-10 remains absent from lists of top health IT priorities, as healthcare organizations struggle to fully grasp all of its aspects.

Bearing that in mind, CMS has hosted National Provider Conference Calls, titled “ICD-10 implementation in a 5010 environment,” the next of which is scheduled for mid-September. The government agency also offers many Web pages dedicated to ICD-10 along with those for HIPAA 5010.

And if you should but somehow don't already know about these mandates and corresponding compliance deadlines, then those other bilious whispers within your head just might require immediate tending.

Editor's Note: Vote in our current reader poll, please! Which ICD-10 cost is of most concern to you? We'll report the results and what they mean on ICD10Watch.