Ewww, I don’t think so. Your feet stink. What could be causing that foul odor to emanate from your feet? The most common cause is sweat. Just sniff your old gym sneakers and you’ll see what I mean...
Coders aren’t the only ones who run into problems due to a lack of complete physician documentation. Lack of sufficient documentation also causes problems for audit review of submitted claims, which in turn leads to delays in payment, according to the October 2014 Medicare Quarterly Provider Compliance Newsletter .
Q: Do any general guidelines exist for queries on outpatient services? We are beginning the process of developing such a query system for our hospital outpatient services and clinical documentation team.
With the increased specificity required for ICD-10-CM coding, coders need a solid foundation in anatomy and physiology. Review the anatomy of the thoracic cage and coding concepts in ICD-10-CM related to coding diagnoses of this region.
When is a mammogram a screening procedure and when does it qualify as a diagnostic test? Lori-Lynne A. Webb, CPC, CCS-P, CCP, CHDA, COBGC, outlines the differences between the two and what to look for in the documentation.
Steven Espinosa , CCS , AHIMA-approved ICD-10-CM/PCS trainer, and Denise Williams, RN, CPC-H, outline the anatomy of the upper gastrointestinal system and how anatomical details, along with the provider's approach and intent, help determine the proper procedure code.
When coders run into a tough coding question, they often look for guidance in the AHA’s Coding Clinic . Coding Clinic is a resource, but it’s not always the final word. The AHA publishes Coding...
Poor Mr. Frank N. Stein. He just coughed up a lung. Literally. While it is possible to survive on one lung, it’s generally not recommended, so Frank is here at the Stitch ‘Em Up Hospital to get a new...
If I hear one more person poke fun at ICD-10-CM code V97.33XD (sucked into a jet engine, subsequent encounter), I am going to develop a very strong case of R45.850. (That’s homicidal ideation in case...
A large number of the code additions in ICD-10-CM appear in the musculoskeletal section. While fractures account for some of those changes, coders also need to understand how coding for other orthopedic conditions will change in ICD-10-CM. Kristi Stanton, RHIT, CCS, CPC, CIRCC, and Kim Carr, RHIT, CCS, CDIP, CCDS, discuss ICD-10-CM coding for sprains, strains, and dislocations.
Q: How specific does the physician have to be for the location of the acute myocardial infarction (MI) in ICD-10-CM? We don’t do catheterizations at my facility .
When a physician closes off varices, coders must determine the location and method the physician used to correctly build an ICD-10-PCS code. Nena Scott, MSEd, RHIA, CCS, CCS-P, and Gretchen Young-Charles, RHIA, review the components of different procedures for closing off varices and how to code those procedures in ICD-10-PCS.
Most, but not all, guidelines in ICD-10-CM match up to those in ICD-9-CM. S helley C. Safian, PhD, CCS-P, CPC-H, CPC -I, AHIMA-approved ICD-10-CM/PCS trainer, highlights some of the main guideline differences for coders to learn before the transition to ICD-10-CM.
If you are a fan of American Horror Story (I’m not) or carnival sideshows (again, not my thing, but I’m not judging), you’ve seen some odd creatures. Maybe you’ve wondered if they are real. After all...
You’ve probably heard that you need to beef up your clinical knowledge for ICD-10-CM and ICD-10-PCS coding. And you’re probably wondering when you have time to do that. We’re here to help. We’ve...
Jeff, an 18-year-old male, came into the Fix ‘Em Up Clinic with complete left oculomotor palsy. Jeff stated he had a severe, throbbing headache around his eye yesterday. He took some aspirin and went...
Saturday marks the 165th anniversary of the death of Edgar Allan Poe, but sadly, we’re still not sure of the cause of Poe’s demise. We do, however, have plenty of theories. First is the popular “he...
Today we’re going to look at a real-life injury, but I will say up front that I don’t have all of the information about this particular patient’s injuries. F1 racecar driver Jules Bianchi was...
The four Cooperating Parties released the 2015 ICD-10-CM guidelines and, in the process, deleted a guideline that affects inpatient coding. Both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and CMS posted the new guidelines on their websites.
