The fiscal year 2018 IPPS final rule included updates to payment rates and quality initiatives, as well as an ample amount of code changes and updates to ICD-10-PCS non-OR to OR code designations.
Don’t automatically presume a link between two conditions within a combination code in cases when a guideline requires that link to be explicitly documented, the latest version of the ICD-10-CM coding guidelines clarify.
One of the most controversial changes to the 2017 ICD-10-CM guidelines was the contradictory guidance for the term “with,” and that issue is addressed in the 2018 version of the guidelines.
On Wednesday, August 2, CMS released the fiscal year 2018 IPPS final rule which featured updates to various quality initiatives, along with annual payment updates for inpatient services.
The 2018 OPPS proposed rule included potential changes to certain radiology modifiers used by CMS to identify services for data collection as well as reimbursement.
According to a study published in Annals of Emergency Medicine, researchers studying emergency department (ED) visits found that electronic sepsis alert implementation increased ED sepsis detection from 83% to 96%.
The 2018 OPPS and Medicare Physician Fee Schedule proposed rules usually make their debuts around the Fourth of July, but despite a later release this year, there were plenty of fireworks within each rule that should generate provider feedback during the comment periods.
In June, CMS released the 2018 ICD-10-PCS Official Guidelines for Coding and Reporting which include various revisions from the 2017 guidelines. These changes come on the heels of the 2018 IPPS proposed rule and recently released ICD-10-PCS codes.
On June 13, CMS released the final 2018 ICD-10-PCS codes that will become effective October 1. These changes come on the heels of April’s IPPS proposed rule.
CMS released the final 2018 ICD-10-CM codes on its website on June 13, and the release contained more code changes than expected following a preview of the new code set in April’s 2018 IPPS proposed rule.
A recent study piloted by CHEST Journal found that surveillance-based clinical data, such as electronic health records, offered more reliable estimates of septic shock trends than coded records.
CMS released a change request May 30 describing modifications which will be implemented in the July 2017 quarterly update to the OPPS. These changes include new ophthalmologic and maternal care codes as well as a handful of new drug codes.
CMS issued a change request to provide guidance to Medicare Administrative Contractors on the use of a new modifier to append to claims for dialysis treatments for end-stage renal disease exceeding the 13 or 14 monthly allowable treatments.
On April 14, CMS released the fiscal year 2018 IPPS proposed rule, which included a proposal for the discontinuation of the CardioMEMS heart failure monitoring system add-on payment.
CMS released a change request April 28 which provides guidance for Medicare Administrative Contractors on how to ensure accurate program payment for moderate sedation services provided as part of screening colonoscopies.
CMS released four new resources in early April on the Merit-based Incentive Payment System, one of two new payment options under the Quality Payment Program initiative created by the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act.
On Friday, April 14, CMS released the fiscal year 2018 IPPS proposed rule with updates to quality initiatives and 2018 ICD-10-PCS and ICD-10-CM code proposals.
Audited hospitals generally applied modifier -59 (distinct procedural service) incorrectly when billing for outpatient right heart catheterizations and heart biopsies provided during the same encounter, leading to overpayments totaling approximately $7.6 million, according to a March report from the Office of Inspector General.
