Planning a big bonfire for October 1, 2014, using your ICD-9-CM Manuals? You might want to think again. Not everyone is required to transition to ICD-10. Only HIPAA covered entities must begin using...
Summer is almost over, and so are the summer road trips. Clark, for one, will be very happy about that. Clark and his family just returned from a week-long road trip across the country with some...
Coders’ clinical knowledge is going to be more critical than ever before. Your ability to glean information from physician documentation and translate these notes into meaningful codes in ICD-10 is...
Legendary Green Bay Packers coach Vince Lombardi once described the ideal linebacker as agile, hostile, and mobile. Sadly, some of our local linebackers are significantly less agile and somewhat...
It’s no longer a mere possibility; HHS has confirmed its intent to delay the ICD-10 compliance deadline, according to its latest press release . “We have heard from many in the provider community who...
Will physician documentation be specific enough so coders can select the most appropriate code in ICD-10-CM/PCS or will coders be defaulting to unspecified codes? For starters, don't dwell on details...
I love the ICD-10-CM external causes codes. I’m weird, I know, but I’m also a writer and I love telling good stories. When I first started coding, my boot camp instructor Peggy Blue, MPH, CPC, CCS-P...
Right now only one in five hospital claims is fully paid without a payer request for more information, according to a RAND Corporation report. With the upcoming transition to ICD-10-CM/PCS, providers...
It is widely known that ICD-10 is going to be much more specific than ICD-9. While that is true, there are some ICD-9 codes that will not be as specific in ICD-10. Here are two examples: ICD-9 codes...
Certification in this day and age has become a vital part of obtaining and proving proficiency in coding and other related fields. Many years ago, coders did not have to be certified to secure...
