Recovery Auditors have identified substantial overpayments for inpatient psychiatric services directly following an acute care stay within the same facility, according to CMS’ MLN Matters® SE1401 .
Q: Can you explain when a neoplasm should be listed as the principal diagnosis? We have some coders who believe the neoplasm should always be the principal diagnosis.
You’ve heard about temperatures so hot you can fry an egg on the sidewalk, right? (I don’t recommend eating the egg afterwards.) It turns out the polar vortex was so cold you could freeze boiling...
We’re on to the third horseman of our ICD-10 Apocalypse: productivity. More specifically, the anticipated upcoming decline in coder productivity. You’ve probably heard the horror stories about the 50...
Joanne Schade-Boyce, BSDH, MS, CPC, ACS , and Denise Williams, RN, CPC-H, look at the changes in the integumentary and cardiovascular systems and how they demonstrate a trend toward bundling in the 2014 CPT® Manual.
Skin and dermatology coding includes unique challenges with its extensive terminology and the need to calculate wound and lesion sizes. Lori-Lynne A. Webb, CPC, CCS-P, CCP, CHDA, COBGC , discusses common documentation problems and how coders can improve their efficiency and proficiency.
Q: A patient presents with lower back pain and the physician documents findings of stenosis, degenerative “changes,” and mild facet arthropathy. Which diagnosis codes should we report? I would code 724.02 (stenosis, lumbar region, without neurogenic claudication) and 721.3 (lumbosacral spondylosis without myelopathy) for the facet degeneration. Another coder has stated that I cannot code 724.02, as the 721.3 diagnosis code will exclude the use of 724.02. Can you help with this scenario?
Coders have until September 30, 2015, to pass AAPC’s ICD-10 proficiency test in order to retain their credentials. AAPC recently added another way to prove proficiency that includes an online training portion, in addition to the previously available timed assessment.
CMS did not finalize a proposal to collapse all evaluation and management visits into three codes, but did change clinic visit level coding. Jugna Shah, MPH, and Valerie A. Rinkle, MPA, review some of the major changes to E/M levels for 2014 and the new codes introduced. introduced.
Ann came in to Stitch ‘Em Up Hospital for a breast biopsy to confirm a diagnosis of breast cancer. Dr. Richards performed the biopsy and based on the results, decided to perform a partial mastectomy...
Fix ‘Em Up Clinic is open for 2014 and we’ve already seen some interesting post-New Year injuries. Rebecca is complaining of pain in her right ankle. Dr. Frost reviews her past medical history and...
It’s the gift-giving season and HCPro is giving you free on-demand access to the audio conference, ICD-10-PCS: Coding, Structure and Format, when you sign up for the January 10 live webcast, ICD-10-...
The number of patients using Medicare Advantage (MA) is rapidly growing, making Hierarchical Condition Categories (HCCs) an increasingly important concept for revenue cycle staff to understand in order to guarantee reimbursement.
Different studies using different methodologies all point to the same conclusion: Coder productivity will decrease after the switch to ICD-10. However, no one knows what will happen to coding accuracy.
Coders live in a very difficult world. They want to do what is best for their organization based on the documentation they have, but sometimes the documentation is incomplete. The patient’s clinical picture can help coders decide when a condition rises to the level of a CC.
In this month's issue we explain why accuracy is as important as speed when coding in ICD-10, review clinical indicators for CC assignment, and provide an index of all 2013 articles. Dr. Gold discusses areas where code choices are insufficient. In addition, our experts answer your coding questions.
In this month's issue, we examine how and when to use Hierarchical Condition Categories (HCCs) . review the perfect storm leading up to the release of the 2014 OPPS Final Rule, answer your coding questions, and provide an index to all of our 2013 stories.
Our experts answer questions on port reassessment, laparoscopies, reporting multiple biopsies, rejected drug claims, post-reduction film, nipple revisions, and more.
