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HIM Connection

Keep up to date with weekly advice on issues such as coding and reimbursement, medical record documentation, Joint Commission IM standards, and more.

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HIM Connection

Issue 49, December 14, 2004

• Disclose PHI to law enforcement officials when required by law

  Your facility may disclose protected health information (PHI) to law enforcement officials without...

Issue 46, December 6, 2004

• A closer look at Stark law exceptions

  Perhaps the most important Stark law exception is the in-office ancillary services exception. This...

Issue 44, November 23, 2004

• HIM compliance coordinator shares low delinquency rate secrets

  Medical Records Briefing set out to learn delinquency secrets and discovered it has nothing to with...

Issue 43, November 16, 2004

• CMS announces new code for changing status from inpatient to outpatient

  CMS implemented a new condition code on October 12 to ease administrative problems related to...

Issue 42, November 9, 2004

• Quiz yourself on medical necessity

  Quiz yourself on medical necessity

Issue 41, November 2, 2004

• Choose correct ICD-9-CM codes to effectively screen for medical necessity

  A complete and accurate understanding of the coding guidelines for diagnostic tests is critical to...

Issue 40, October 26, 2004

• Consider switching to speech-recognition technology

  Transcription is plagued by the same condition as coding-a shortage of qualified personnel. Even...

Issue 39, October 19, 2004

• Use the 837 claim correctly to comply with HIPAA and positively affect reimburse

  Whether a provider files claims and receives reimbursement on some form of (discounted...

Issue 38, October 12, 2004

• Audit yourself by assuming the role of the OIG

  Organizations conducting internal audits to determine how they are doing with APCs will be ahead of...

Issue 37, October 5, 2004

• Eliminate chargemaster duplication

  Duplicate reports of CPT or HCPCS Level II codes for the same service-both by the department...

Issue 36, September 28, 2004

• Report data for 10 quality measures to receive full reimbursement under IPPS

  The inpatient prospective payment system (IPPS) rule ties quality to reimbursement for the first...

Issue 35, September 22, 2004

• Evade vulnerability by managing vendor access to PHI

  The security language in the HIPAA privacy rule spells out several ways you need to address overall...

Issue 34, September 14, 2004

• Test your Stark II knowledge

  Would your hospital's chief financial officer be applying Stark II regulations correctly when...

Issue 33, September 7, 2004

• Consider how you measure transcription

  If you outsource some or all of your transcription, insist on a clear definition and formula so you...

Issue 32, August 31, 2004

• Implement universal chart order to eliminate labor-intensive assembly

  Goal: Save from 4-10 minutes for an average medical-surgical chart and up to 60 minutes for...

Issue 31, August 24, 2004

• What to do when a physician leaves and forgets records

  What to do when a physician leaves and forgets records

Issue 30, August 10, 2004

• Quiz your staff to prepare for the JCAHO survey

  Quiz your staff to prepare for the JCAHO survey

Issue 29, August 3, 2004

• How to prepare for the JCAHO survey process

  Because the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) survey process...

Issue 28, July 20, 2004

• Remember these exceptions to HIPAA

  Not all protected health information is treated the same under the privacy rule. Sometimes patients...

Issue 27, July 13, 2004

• Medical record committee protocol

  Medical record committee protocol: What will be reviewed, who will conduct the reviews, and how...

Issue 26, July 7, 2004

• Establishing or updating your ongoing records review process

  The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare organization's (JCAHO) ongoing records review...

Issue 25, June 29, 2004

• Implement policies for documentation of reduced/discontinued procedures

  Use modifier -52 (reduced services) when modifier -73 or modifier -74 are not appropriate because...

Issue 20, June 15, 2004

• What is postservice float?

  The HIM department can keep postservice float to a minimum because a claim cannot go to the payer...

Issue 19, June 1, 2004

• Test your HIPAA knowledge

  HIPAA privacy should be old hat to you by now-and the security rule slated for next April is just...

• Test your HIPAA knowledge, part II

  Last week we brought you the first half of a 10-question quiz to find out whether you make the...

Issue 18, May 18, 2004

• Consultation v. visit: Know the difference

  A consultation is a type of E/M service provided when one physician or appropriate nonphysician...

• Use a simple form to survey HIM "customers"

  The clinicians, departments, and administrators that rely on your expertise probably have some...

Issue 17, May 4, 2004

• Prepare for your IM.1.10 technology needs

  Although the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) does not...

• Complete a checklist before approving new forms

  The medical records committee at McAlester (OK) Regional Health Center approves all hospital forms...

Issue 16, April 20, 2004

• Choose the right outside help for your next compliance audit

  If your organization has decided to hire an outside firm to perform a compliance audit, create...

• Ignore HIPAA and pay the price

  Breaking the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996's (HIPAA) privacy or...

Issue 15, April 13, 2004

• Coding case studies: You make the call

  Use the clinical documentation to determine the CPT codes and modifiers to use for these two case...

• Answers to case studies

  Find the answers to the case studies featured in the April 13th issue of HIM Connection.

Issue 14, April 6, 2004

• Important decisions and activities for ORR

  You need more than just an understanding of the JCAHO standards to establish an effective ongoing...

Issue 13, March 30, 2004

• "Incident to" services: Don't fall prey to the OIG

  Office of Inspector General (OIG) auditors have been busily investigating outpatient...

Issue 12, March 22, 2004

• Improve physician documentation

  You can use your documentation expertise to convince physicians of the role their documentation...

Issue 11, March 16, 2004

• Three-phase plan to reduce denied claims

  "What gets measured gets improved" is the mantra of Charles Brown, revenue-cycle administrator for...

Issue 10, March 9, 2004

• What you need to know about periodic performance reviews

  One of the most exciting aspects of Shared Visions-New Pathways is that under this process...

Issue 9, March 2, 2004

• HIPAA Pop quiz

  Think you're a HIM hotshot? Try your hand at HIM Connection's HIPAA pop quiz to find out whether...

Issue 8, February 24, 2004

• Three real-life scenarios test your standards of conduct

  Use these real-life situations to guage the effectiveness of your standards of conduct.

Issue 7, February 17, 2004

• Unsuccessful v. aborted/discontinued procedures

  You and your coders should understand that the definitions of unsuccessful and aborted/discontinued...

Issue 6, February 10, 2004

• Use CDI tools effectively

  The adage, "if all you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail," applies well to clinical...

Issue 5, February 3, 2004

• Get tough with physicians to lower the delinquency rate

  Breaking the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996's (HIPAA) privacy or...

Issue 4, January 27, 2004

• Preparing for Tracer Methodology

  Accurate, complete, legible, and timely medical records are essential elements for periodic...

Issue 3, January 20, 2004

• Documenting consultations v. visits

  Consultations are distinguishable from visits. In a consultation one physician or appropriate...

Issue 2, January 13, 2004

• Improve discharge disposition compliance

  Already under an Office of Inspector General (OIG) agreement for physician billing problems and...

Issue 1, January 6, 2004

• Encouraging physician documentation

  Encouraging physicians to improve their documentation could improve reimbursement for your...

Issue 21, June 22, 2004

• Patient-specific information and the IM.6.10 standard

  IM.6.10 addresses the medical record and specific requirements for some of its content, staff...