CMS’ recently released fiscal year (FY) 2020 Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) proposed rule includes 273 proposed ICD-10-CM code additions mainly affecting reporting for legal interventions, orbital roof fractures, and pressure-induced deep tissue damage. The code changes, if finalized, will take effect October 1, 2019.
CMS released the fiscal year (FY) 2020 IPPS proposed rule Tuesday, April 23, which included the annual ICD-10-CM/PCS code update proposals, significant changes to CC/MCC and MS-DRG designations, and a proposed increase to hospital payment rates.
Hospital/physician practice integration has contributed to an increase in chemotherapy drug treatment and injection administration spending under Medicare, according to a study recently published in Health Economics.
Researchers analyzed reports and clinical data from a community hospital for malnourished patients and concluded that of the 1,817 records for malnourished adult patients examined, 1,171 (64.4%) of them were not coded for malnutrition, according to the study published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
Members of the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) asked the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to create national coding guidelines for ED visits by 2022, following an April 4 meeting.
Sepsis is a leading cause of death in U.S. hospitals, but in most of cases, sepsis alone may not be the true cause of the majority of inpatient, septic hospital deaths, according to recent research published by the Journal of the American Medical Association.
CMS introduced seven new HCPCS codes and granted pass-through payment status to four separately payable drugs and biologicals in the April 2019 OPPS quarterly update.
During CMS’ two-day Coordination and Maintenance Committee meeting March 5 and 6, various stakeholders presented ICD-10-PCS proposals for consideration for future ICD-10-PCS code updates.
The second day of the ICD-10 Coordination and Maintenance Committee meeting, led by CMS and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics, on March 5-6 focused largely on proposed ICD-10-CM code changes for mental health and musculoskeletal conditions.
A recent study showed that CMS’ Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program (HRRP) may be causing an increase in the 30-day mortality rate for certain conditions. Now, a second study published by Health Affairs claims that the reductions in readmission rates are themselves “illusory or overstated.”
CMS recently released Transmittal 4246 , revising language in Chapter 13 of the Medicare Claims Processing Manual regarding the billing of E/M codes on the same date of service as superficial radiation treatment delivery.
CMS recently released an MLN Matters article to inform hospitals and Medicare Administrator Contractors of new system changes, effective July 1, that ensure organ acquisition costs are not included in the IPPS payment calculation for claims that group to a non-transplant MS-DRG.
The American Hospital Association (AHA) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently issued court-ordered briefs in which each defends its respective position in a federal 340B payment lawsuit. The case was brought against HHS by multiple hospital groups to reverse Medicare payment cuts for drugs purchased through CMS' 340B drug discount program.
Using financial penalties to reduce hospital readmissions has been linked to a significant rise in post-discharge mortality for patients with heart failure and pneumonia, according to a recent study by the Journal of the American Medical Association.
A recent study conducted by physician researchers at Stanford University highlights the challenges of CPT code-based patient classification and subsequent outcome analysis for colorectal procedures.
Average hospital costs and mortality rates are significantly higher for patients diagnosed with sepsis after hospital admission when compared with patients diagnosed prior to admission, according to a retrospective analysis recently published in Critical Care Medicine.
Findings show that pathologist involvement in the review and verification of CPT codes may reduce the need for code modifications at the time of sign-out auditing, according to the recent study published in the Archives of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine.
The Office of Inspector General (OIG) has been conducting a series of studies about adverse events in various healthcare settings since 2008 and will be publishing more of its corresponding reports throughout 2019, the OIG said in a statement.
A preliminary study found that a new point-of-care troponin assay safely ruled out acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in a large proportion of patients with symptoms suggestive of acute coronary syndrome, according to the report published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Findings from a retrospective cohort study published in the American Journal of Emergency Medicine suggest that, on average, EDs may report higher-level E/M services for incarcerated individuals when compared to the general population.
