High-risk general surgery patients have greater survival rates at major teaching hospitals than at non-teaching hospitals, according to a study published by the Annals of Surgery.
Brett Hoggard, MD, writes that the healthcare industry continues to transition toward a value-based, pay-for-performance system, but there’s still confusion surrounding different quality and value programs.
Q: Physicians at our hospital use the terms bacteremia and sepsis interchangeably despite each having distinct ICD-10-CM codes. How should we address this issue, and what should we do when we need to query?
CPT reporting for surgical heart procedures requires an in-depth understanding of cardiovascular anatomy and terminology. This article reviews CPT reporting for procedures involving cardiac pacemakers and implantable cardioverter-defibrillators based on key details in provider documentation. Note : To access this free article, make sure you first register here if you do not have a paid subscription.
Review finalized changes to relative value units for office visits, new HCPCS codes for chronic care management and opioid treatment services, and future updates to the E/M reporting guidelines.
Peggy S. Blue, MPH, CCS, CCS-P, CPC, CEMC , reviews the appropriate application of 14 new HCPCS codes that will allow opioid treatment programs to report medication-assisted treatments beginning January 1, 2020.
In the 2020 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule final rule, CMS increased the performance threshold for Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) eligible providers and finalized its proposal to implement the MIPS Value Pathways (MVP) framework in calendar year 2021.
Q: A patient presents for routine obstetrical (OB) care following a vaginal delivery. During the visit, the provider performs a postpartum depression screening. Should the depression screening be charged separately from the global OB visit service?
Julian Everett, RN, BSN, CDIP, writes that early recognition of sepsis in pediatric patients, along with accurate reporting, is vital to the future of healthcare. With the goal of improving patient outcomes through documentation, Everett outlines her experience in providing documentation education to physicians.
Q: When a diabetic patient has arteriosclerotic peripheral artery disease (PAD), should an additional ICD-10-CM code be assigned from subcategory I70.2- (atherosclerosis of native arteries of extremities) to describe the affected vessel and laterality?
