When coding for neoplasms in ICD-10-CM, coders will notice some differences in clinical documentation and sequencing. ICD-10-CM and ICD-9-CM coding for neoplams share some similarities, but ICD-10-CM...
When I first heard that the American Medical Association (AMA) is still fighting against ICD-10 implementation, I thought, “Seriously?” and rolled my eyes. In case you haven’t heard, the AMA’s House...
External cause codes in ICD-10-CM are intended to provide data for injury research and evaluation of injury prevention strategies. Some are humorous and some are confusing. Rhonda Buckholtz, CPC, CPMA, CPC-I, CGSC, COBGC, CPEDC, CENTC, explains how and when to use these codes.
Black Friday marks the beginning of the holiday shopping season—and the holiday injury season at Fix ‘Em Up Clinic. Patients started showing up shortly after the stores opened this morning with...
Over the river and through the woods to the Fix ‘Em Up Clinic we go. Not exactly where our patients want to spend Thanksgiving (and neither do we), but we’re here to coding their holiday mishaps...
Do you find yourself wondering how you will ever learn everything to be ready for the ICD-10-CM/PCS compliance deadline? Does it feel overwhelming with how busy you are? The answer: Keep Calm and...
How many of you are worried about getting physicians on board with the ICD-10 transition? We all know physicians are busy people. So how do you get them engaged in learning about the increased...
Quite a few campers took advantage of the nice weather this weekend to make one last trip into the woods before winter. Unfortunately, some of them ended up in Fix ‘Em Up Clinic as a result of their...
Do you know what you don’t know about ICD-10? Do you know where your knowledge gaps are? Unfortunately, the answer is probably no. More than half of the people who responded to our completely...
Wile E. Coyote may bill himself as a Super Genius, but based on his last visit to the ACME ED, I think that’s overstating things a bit. What landed Wile E. back in the ED, you ask? Another...
Thinking about exiting the coding profession before the transition to ICD-10? Laura Legg, RHIT, CCS, enjoys coding too much to give it up and offers some tips for how to prepare for the transition.
It’s All Saints Day (you know, the day after Halloween) and the waiting room at the Fix ‘Em Up Clinic is full of ghosties and ghoulies and long-legged beasties. I’m not sure if we have any things...
The ICD-10-CM/PCS delay may give coders more time to learn the new system, but what does this mean for organizations that have already begun to prepare?
ICD-10-CM/PCS incorporates laterality, acuity, anatomical specificity, and a slew of additional combination and complication codes. Who will submit queries when this information is missing in a medical record? Will coders or CDI specialists take on this role? Perhaps it might be a combination of the two.
The manager of clinical documentation integrity program/HIMS at a 300-bed academic medical center and pediatric specialty hospital has high hopes for computer-assisted coding (CAC). In particular, she anticipates that it will increase productivity and ease the transition from ICD-9-CM to ICD-10-CM/PCS.
Hurricane Sandy blasted the Mid-Atlantic region this week, causing plenty of destruction in its wake. We could undoubtedly spend a lot of time coding for the injuries people suffered as a result of...
Inpatient coders will face a big learning curve when it comes to ICD-10-PCS. It’s a completely different system with a lot more detail than ICD-9-CM Volume 3. The biggest potential problem could be...
Anytown hosted a national ICD-10 conference this week and some of the Fix ‘Em Up Clinic’s coders attended the sessions to learn all about the new coding system. The rest of us got to meet some of the...
ICD-10-CM code category J45.- includes new, more specific terms for asthma that may help improve data quality and lead to more effective research and treatments. Deborah Grider, CPC, CPC-I, CPC-H, CPC-P, CPMA, CEMC, CPCD, COBGC, CCS-P CDIP, and Suzan Berman, CPC, CEMC, CEDC, detail the new terminology for asthma coding in ICD-10-CM.
