The switch to ICD-10-CM won't bring many changes in the codes for reporting genital prolapse, but understanding the nuances of the diagnoses is key for choosing the correct code. Lori-Lynne A. Webb, CPC, CCS-P, CCP, CHDA, CDIP, COBGC, highlights terms to look for in documentation and provides a sample operative report to test your knowledge.
After years of consideration, CMS introduced extensive changes for modifier -59 (distinct procedural service) for 2015. Jugna Shah, MPH , explains these changes and when to use the new modifiers instead of modifier -59.
Coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) procedures are not the only ones coders will report using the root operation Bypass in ICD-10-PCS. Surgeons can create bypasses in other vessels of the body.
In a concerted effort to move healthcare payments to a system of "quality over quantity," CMS finalized policies that greatly expanded packaging for outpatient providers in the 2015 OPPS final rule. It also introduced complexity adjustments with comprehensive APCs (C-APCs).
The ICD-10 implementation delay mandated by Congress this spring granted providers an extra year to prepare their coders and clinicians on the requirements of the new code set, but a recent survey has found some organizations heading in the wrong direction.
The majority of providers either stopped or slowed their ICD-10 preparations as a result of the latest implementation delay, but now providers have less than a year to become ready. CMS' Denesecia Green and Stacey Shagena offer advice on how providers can create an action plan to be ready by October 1, 2015—even if they haven't started yet.
Malnutrition is at its most basic level any nutritional imbalance. While it can be overnutrition, such as being overweight, obese, or morbidly obese, providers more commonly equate malnutrition with undernutrition, which is a continuum of inadequate intake, impaired absorption, altered transport, and altered nutrient utilization.
Even before ICD-10-CM was delayed until October 1, 2015, the quality of physician documentation to accommodate the new code set was a top concern for the healthcare industry.
Coding for endovascular revascularization requires following a unique hierarchy and specific guidelines. Caren J. Swartz, CPC-I, CPC-H, CPMA, CPB , and Denise Williams, RN, CPC-H , look at the anatomy of the lower body and the necessary documentation to report these services.
