With 50 new ICD-10-PCS codes implemented on April 1, Shelley C. Safian, PhD, RHIA, CCS-P, COC, CPC-I , thoroughly reviews the codes to help inpatient coders accurately apply the updates.
Our experts answer questions on overcoming documentation challenges for sepsis, ICD-10-CM coding for infections of devices vs. wound infections as well as class three obesity and/or morbid obesity, and querying physician abbreviations.
Building a team of fully cross-trained coders who are competently able to code all record types is one of a coding manager’s goals. Achieving this goal requires that managers inventory the skills of each coder, identify focused education, and plan for cross-training opportunities.
Our experts answer questions about assigning modifiers, mental health documentation and assigning evaluation and management service levels based on time.
Reducing hospital readmissions has long been a health policy goal, and CDI programs have started to track and review this metric for improvement. Learn how CDI teams are addressing readmissions, as a familiarity with risk adjustment and the impact of documentation can prove useful to coders who also play a role in risk adjustment through their translations of complete documentation into precise codes.
Coders play a crucial role in addressing clinical and coding denials, but they are far from alone in this effort. All HIM professionals are working together to create and implement comprehensive strategies that effectively reduce denials, fostering a unified approach to overcoming these challenges.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has pulled information on health-related social needs (HRSN), a subset of broader social determinants of health factors, for state Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program, potentially making it harder for services that address HRSNs to be covered by these affected programs.
Q: A month ago, a patient had undergone an open reduction and internal fixation of a traumatic fracture of the left femur. This afternoon, she was admitted for a severe and deep infection of the left thigh and immediately taken to surgery. An open, wide excisional debridement of the infected skin, subcutaneous tissue, and fascia was carried out, and the internal fixation hardware was removed. Cultures of the fixation pins grew Staphylococcus aureus. Can coders report infections of devices similar to how they would report a wound infection in ICD-10-CM?
Although typically associated with outpatient services due to their use of HCPCS codes, chargemasters are also crucial in inpatient settings, as they serve as the foundation for billing services rendered during a patient’s hospital stay. Learn how inpatient coders can help maintain the financial health of their organizations through the proper understanding of chargemasters. Note : To access this free article, make sure you first register if you do not have a paid subscription.
