Make sure your staff know when they can count the independent review of a test toward medical decision-making. This article provides guidance on when to count independent interpretations.
A recent study published in the American Journal of Psychiatry looked into national trends in outpatient mental healthcare and found that the use of psychotherapy increased while the use of psychotropic medication alone decreased.
The ICD-10-CM classifies deep vein thrombosis with a high degree of specificity based on severity, affected extremity, vein location, and laterality, but without detailed clinical documentation or consistent terminology use, coders may need to query providers often for clarification in order to assign the right code.
Psychosis often emerges or is managed in outpatient mental health settings, but it can be coded during inpatient hospital stays due to the acute nature of the condition when it reaches a crisis point. To ensure that this mental health diagnosis receives the same diligence as medical and surgical diagnoses, Nancy Reading, RN, BS, CPC, CPC-P, CPC-I , provides coders with guidance on finding the right codes and resolving documentation conundrums.
Jenny Esper, RHIA, CDIP, CCS, CCDS , and Lizabeth Volansky, BSN, RN, CCDS, RHIA, CDIP, CCS , explore the topic of including references or links to definitions within query notes and how such a practice can enhance documentation and coding.
Review a study based on ICD-10-CM data from the National Vital Statistics System that shows life expectancy for the United States population increased to 78.4 years in 2023 while the mortality rate decreased by 6.0% to 750.5 deaths per 100,000 of the standard population in 2023. Also determined were leading causes of death.
Medicare utilization of CPT critical care code 99291 and add-on code 99292 jumped higher during the pandemic years. That bump has subsided, however, and a review of 10 years of progress in critical care utilization suggests the codes have swiftly adjusted to pre-COVID levels.
CMS recently updated the list of preventive service codes that can be reported with complexity add-on HCPCS code G2211. In a recent change request, CMS deleted codes for services not considered covered preventive services and added codes for services that are considered covered preventive services.
There are three ways to bill the services of a non-physician practitioner: incident-to, direct, and shared billing. The type of billing used often depends on the location of service and the degree of physician supervision. Note: To access this free article, make sure you first register here if you do not have a paid subscription.
Effective October 1, 2024, three new diagnostic codes have been added to the ICD-10-CM classification system. These three new codes are designed to capture early stage type 1 diabetes preceding the onset of symptoms.
Coding for joint replacement procedures requires extra attention to detail, particularly for device and qualifier characters and most importantly for partial replacements. Terry Tropin, MSHAI, RHIA, CCS-P , shows how these characters are very specific but give a clear picture of the procedure that was performed for a specific patient.
Revenue integrity professionals have found that working with multiple departments is helpful in addressing denials. Discover how coders—alongside denial, clinical, and CDI professionals—can play a key role in this increased collaboration to manage and prevent denials.
With hundreds of ICD-10-CM codes available for the various forms and manifestations of osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, coding these conditions to their highest specificity can be surprisingly complex. Without a thorough understanding of their distinctions, and without clear documentation from providers, navigating this coding landscape can feel overwhelming. Note : To access this free article, make sure you first register if you do not have a paid subscription.
On April 11, CMS released the fiscal year 2026 Inpatient Prospective Payment System proposed rule, which proposes a 2.4% payment increase for hospitals and several adjustments to quality reporting programs, including the Hospital Inpatient Quality Reporting Program.
The Affordable Care Act provides preventive and early diagnosis healthcare services for free to anyone with a health insurance policy. This article provides coding specialists with guidance to ensure they’re documenting these services correctly so that providers are compensated properly.
Accurate medical coding for dermatological procedures is essential for proper payment and compliance. This article provides a detailed overview of coding guidelines for excisions and repairs, ensuring that healthcare professionals correctly report these procedures.
Our experts answer questions on NICU coding, ICD-10-CM coding for kidney transplants with kidney failure or other complications, and the acceptance of systemwide clinical definitions on queries.
