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.
CMS and the Office of Inspector General (OIG) claims to have identified unspecified upcoding in hospital billing—either accidentally or intentionally reporting higher severity codes than supported by documentation to increase payment. Because of this, these entities will conduct a two-part study to assess inpatient hospital billing, according to the OIG.
CMS recently released the 2019 NCCI Policy Manual for Medicare Services , which includes updates to payment policies and coding methodologies effective January 1, 2019. The changes impact billing and reporting for spinal arthrodesis procedures and laboratory services.
Among patients ages 65 years and older, the rate of opioid-related hospitalizations increased more than the rate of nonopioid-related hospitalizations between 2010 and 2015, according to the recent statistical brief published by the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project.
Findings from an Office of Inspector General (OIG) audit show that Novitas Solutions Inc. overpaid hospitals for intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) services provided to nearly all sampled Medicare beneficiaries over a 30-month period, resulting in overpayments of at least $7.2 million.
A new risk model provides a simple way to determine whether acute myocardial infarction (AMI) patients are at a high risk for hospital readmissions, says a study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.
CMS recently released both the calendar year (CY) 2019 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule and OPPS final rules last week, revising the payment structure for E/M office visits and expanding payment reductions for drugs purchased under the 340B discount pricing program by nonexcepted, off-campus, provider-based departments.
CMS released Transmittal 836 on October 19, clarified language in Chapter 6 of the Medicare Program Integrity Manual regarding medical review of diagnostic laboratory tests.
The rate of most hospital-acquired conditions (HAC) continued to decline from 2014 to 2016, according to the latest national scorecard released by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
A retrospective study recently published in the Journal of Pediatric Surgery found that 59% of reviewed cases across four institutions contained discrepancies between operative dictation and CPT coding for pediatric abdominal surgeries.
Acute heart failure patients in an emergency department's clinical pathway program had a 13.1% lower readmission rate, according to a report published in the American Journal of Emergency Medicine.
The most recent quarterly update to the influenza virus vaccine code set includes a new HCPCS influenza virus vaccine code approved for use in 2019, according to CMS Transmittal 4127.
Early readmissions were more likely to be preventable and amenable to hospital-based interventions, according to a recent study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
The American Medical Association recently released the 2019 CPT code set, which includes 335 code changes, primarily for skin biopsies, fine needle aspirations, and central nervous system assessments. All changes take effect January 1.
