Health Information Management

Do some analysis to deal with the DCA

HIM Connection, September 28, 2010

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The FY 2011 inpatient prospective payment system final rule released July 30 includes the usual suspects—present on admission, hospital-acquired conditions (HAC), ICD-10, the feared documentation and coding adjustment (DCA)—and more.

Many providers protested the proposed -2.9% DCA, but CMS proceeded with the change it says will help offset overpayments resulting from coding practices under the MS-DRG system that don’t reflect actual increases in patient severity.
 
What should hospitals do in response?
 
They should generate an analysis to determine the financial impact of the DCA, says Gloryanne Bryant, RHIA, CCS, CCDS, regional managing director of HIM, NCAL Revenue Cycle, at Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc., & Hospitals in Oakland, CA. She anticipates hospitals will place greater emphasis on improving processes to compensate for some of the loss.
 
Editor’s note: This tip was adapted from an article in the September issue of Briefings on Coding Compliance Strategies. Subscribers have access to the full article in their newsletter.



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