Sepsis is a potentially fatal condition that affects nearly 1.7 million adults in America each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Nearly 270,000 Americans die each year from sepsis-related complications.
The American Hospital Association (AHA) released Coding Clinic, Second Quarter 2019, just in time for summer vacation. If Coding Clinic didn’t make your summer must-read list, then be sure to review this article, which summarizes coding updates discussed in the quarterly newsletter and their impact on severity and DRG assignment
Cathy Farraher, RN, BSN, MBA, CCM, CCDS, writes that CDI professionals can work to reduce the incidence of physician query fatigue and gives recommendations to help improve provider response rate while reducing query frustration.
Regularly reviewing hospital-acquired conditions (HAC) and preparing for unanticipated reporting situations will ensure your facility can submit these with the utmost accuracy. Joe Rivet, JD, CCS-P, CPC, CEMC, CHC, CCEP, CHRC, CHPC, CICA, CPMA, CAC, CACO, helps coders better understand HACs by outlining the basics and giving tips for improving inpatient documentation and coding for these conditions.
Tamara Hicks, RN, BSN, MHA, CCS, CCS, ACM-RN, CCDS-O , explains how her organization implemented a CDI career ladder and why it’s an important step for hospitals looking to expand their coding and CDI departments.
Allen Frady, RN, BSN, CCDS, CCS, CRC , reviews the answers to commonly asked questions pertaining to sepsis documentation to help coders and CDI specialists ensure accurate reporting of this condition.
While it is essential to receive continuing education on ICD-10-CM/PCS code selection, it is also important to stay current with industry news. Joe Rivet, JD, CCS-P, CPC, CEMC, CHC, CCEP, CHRC, CHPC, CICA, CPMA, CAC, CACO , reviews inpatient reporting and guideline updates for fiscal year 2020. Note : To access this free article, make sure you first register here if you do not have a paid subscription.
Having taken on more diverse responsibilities, many providers regard medical coding as a necessary evil; their primary focus is caring for their patients. Although many physicians select codes for the work they perform, they rely on specialized coding and auditing professionals to review their documentation and reporting for accuracy.
Keeping up with coding changes in the circulatory system chapter in the ICD-10-CM manual is an ongoing process. Almost every fiscal year coders are met with new codes for myocardial infarctions (MI), changes to congestive heart failure codes, and updates to the guidelines for reporting cerebrovascular diseases.
