Inflation and pressing household expenses are forcing some people to postpone health needs, an emerging trend that has health experts worried that conditions may only worsen. Megan Swanson has warily watched the erosion of her family’s savings as inflation chips away at a reserve for emergencies. She often postpones any regular doctor’s appointments, including her […]
KEY TAKEAWAYS Denials rose to 11% of all claims last year, up nearly 8% from 2021. Revenue cycle leaders should place their focus on clinical validation denials to help ease the overall denials burden. A key defensive strategy for preventing denials is provider education. Revenue cycle leaders need to understand that clinical validation denials are […]
Each year the American Hospital Association (AHA) releases an advocacy agenda focusing on key areas in need of “critical support” for hospitals and health systems, and this year, quite a few key areas will be focused on your revenue cycle. “Hospitals and health systems are dealing with unprecedented challenges as they manage the aftershocks and […]
February may be American Heart Month, but correctly diagnosing and coding cardiac conditions requires healthcare professionals to work hard to get right 365 days a year. Outlining coding guidance for pulmonary hypertension – a rare condition that nonetheless can be particularly deadly, often because it is not diagnosed until it is in advanced stages. It […]
Over 1,500 hospitals reviewed in the report were noncompliant with at least one requirement of the price transparency rule between December 2022 and January 2023. Less than a quarter of hospitals are complying with the hospital price transparency rule over two years after the regulation went into effect, according to a report from PatientRightsAdvocate.org. The […]
The updates to ICD-10-CM and ICD-10-PCS that become effective April 1 were released in mid-January. The updates include 42 new diagnosis codes. The significant changes to the ICD-10-CM guidelines are the following: A.19 – Code Assignment and Clinical Criteria This section has added a new sentence: “If there is conflicting medical record documentation, query the […]
Not Coding the Highest Level When it comes to ICD-10 coding, a coder’s job is to code to the highest level of specificity. This means detailing and abstracting the most information out of the medical reports from the provider and taking accurate notes. It also means knowing the medical terminology for both procedures and diagnoses. […]
Don’t assume the codes you’ve been using to report drugs and biologicals still apply. The January 2023 update to the HCPCS Level II code file from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) includes 184 new codes for reporting services and supplies. Approximately 36 of the new codes were created to separately identify products […]
Erica Remer, MD, CCDS, a Member Board of Directors of American College of Physician Advisors, have been talking about improving the electronic medical record and making it more end-user-friendly. Today, she grouses about documentation in general. Her husband, who is a radiologist, and she were commiserating at how awful and uninformative provider documentation has become […]
A new study found that people with diabetes who switched to a high deductible health plan (HDHP) were more likely to experience serious complications. Understand your insurance plan and what it covers. A January 2023 study led by Dr. Rozalina McCoy, endocrinologist and health services researcher at Mayo Clinic, found that people with diabetes who […]