These days, the healthcare industry is all about the numbers, especially as pay-for-performance becomes more common. Lawrence L. Sanders, Jr., MD, MBA, and Simone R. Gravesande, RN, BSN , review how APR-DRGs work and why all coders should understand them.
The ideal approach to ICD-10-CM/PCS preparation is capitalizing on the synergistic partnership between clinical documentation improvement and coding professionals. Glenn Krauss, BBA, RHIA, CCS, CCS-P, CPUR, C-CDI, CCDS, discusses how organizations can use this dynamic to improve preparations for ICD-10.
E codes are important in a variety of settings. Pamela L. Owens, PhD, Kathy Vermoch, MPH, Leslie Prellwitz, MBA, CCS, CCS-P, and Suzanne Rogers, RHIA, CCS, CCDS, explain the importance of reporting E codes and why every facility should have an internal coding policy that includes E codes.
Hospitals continue to report dramatic increases in Recovery Auditor (RA) activity, according to the latest RAC Trac survey results released June 4. The survey found that the number of medical record requests for survey respondents has increased by 53% in comparison to the cumulative total reported in the third quarter of 2012.
Q: What advice can you offer for sequencing pulmonary edema and congestive heart failure when both appear to meet the definition of principal diagnosis?
