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Issue 12, December 1, 2005 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• How HPMP can improve your facility’s coding and compliance

  Free tool finds problematic DRGs, issues reports Editor’s note: This is the first in a...

• Coders as auditors: Technology adds new dimension to old profession

  Coders who sift through piles of records in paper-based systems and manually assign codes to...

• Know why, when, and how to clarify physician documentation to code correctly

  By Robert S. Gold, MD The goal of a physician query is to achieve a better reflection of the...

• Improve documentation with coder/case manager team

  Six tips to laying a sound foundation at your facility The team approach to documentation...

• Follow Federal Register three-day window guidelines

  HIM professionals and coders commonly roll outpatient services into inpatient admissions...

Issue 11, November 1, 2005 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• ’Internal medicine’ cures Maine facility

  In-house consultants improve coding, compliance Eastern Maine Healthcare Systems in Bangor has...

• It’s official: Coders can code from nonphysician documentation

  Physician assistant, nurse practitioner notes permitted Official coding guidelines released in...

• Form clear queries with a standardized policy, documentation, and open questions

  Follow these tips to avoid improperly leading the physician Coders are often in the unenviable...

• Learn meanings of STEMI, NSTEMI for proper code assignment

  If you look closely at the 2006 ICD-9-CM codes, you’ll notice two new terms in the 410.xx...

Issue 10, October 1, 2005 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Four tips to prepare for postacute care DRG changes in your facility

  CMS has dramatically increased the number of DRGs subject to the postacute care (PAC) transfer...

• How to solve the screening versus diagnostic mammography puzzle

  Code and bill mammogram based on physician’s orders The question comes up again and again...

• Use software to improve charge capture in your facility

  The popularity of mobile charge capture--doctors using hand-held devices to charge for services at...

Issue 9, September 1, 2005 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Final IPPS rule drops cardiac coding bombs not in proposed rule

  DRGs introduce new logic, principal diagnoses The inpatient prospective payment system (IPPS...

• Patient safety law gives pharmacists, others chance to report medical errors

  Pharmacists and other individual healthcare professionals will be able to report confidentially any...

• Involve coders in documentation improvement for best results

  Hospitals can make millions of dollars per year in additional revenue by training their talented...

• Not even Congress can stop postacute care expansion

  Prepare now for payment, tracking changes Several state and national medical associations...

• Understand hypostatic pneumonia and inappropriate use of 514

  Over time, the terms we use for diseases change. Sometimes that history is very interesting...

• When in doubt, use manual for inpatient procedures

  When it comes to coding inpatient operations and procedures, pick up volume three of the ICD-9-CM...

Issue 8, August 1, 2005 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Transmittal adds new step, more ICD-9 codes to coders’ plates

  As you prepare for the updates of ICD-9 codes that will take place October 1, be sure to address...

• System focuses on documentation and coding to turn around finances

  When Kaleida Health, a five-hospital system in Buffalo, NY, began a high-profile, lengthy...

• Discover the difference between heart dysfunction and failure

  The evolution of the code sets for heart failure over the past several years has caused some...

Issue 7, July 1, 2005 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Document imaging simplifies hospital’s coding process

  With an average of 500 lab account registrations per day and 1,000 sheets of paper in a variety of...

• Don’t neglect at-home coding opportunity, says TX HIM director

  Since it established a remote coding option in 2003, Harris Methodist Fort Worth Hospital has seen...

• New department addresses all aspects of coding

  Centura Health, Colorado’s largest healthcare system, put its coders and the coding function...

• Prepare your physicians for the new renal disease stages, coordinating codes

  As of October 1, 2005, an important ICD-9-CM code will be replaced by a bunch of unfamiliar...

Issue 6, June 1, 2005 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• CMS targets postacute care in IPPS proposed rule

  Plans move 223 DRGs under transfer policy Aside from the expected new ICD-9-CM codes and DRG...

• CMS sets up new entity to augment recovery efforts

  In an attempt to identify improperly paid Medicare claims and to recover money from the Medicare...

• Proposed rule includes new codes, DRG reorganization

  In addition to the continued focus on quality data reporting, the inpatient prospective payment...

• Understanding the types of heart failure leads to better coding

  Since my last article about heart failure, I’ve received interesting questions from coders...

• AHA breathes new life into respiratory failure

  Coding Clinic for ICD-9-CM, Q1 2005, reveals significant changes in acute respiratory failure...

Issue 5, May 1, 2005 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Official ICD-9 guidelines updated

  Focus on sepsis, septicemia, E codes, and obstetrics For the first time in five years, CMS and...

• Attorneys answer coder queries about e-documentation, audits

  Editor's note: The following is a collection of questions and answers from a session held during...

• Conquer complex ICD-9 coding

  Trainer tackles top troubles, including diabetes, obstetrics, and injuries After more than a...

• A common coding conundrum

  By Robert S. Gold, MD While conducting a documentation improvement program at a hospital, I...

• Five ways to foster better coder-physician relationships

  Imagine that your facility's physicians answer your documentation queries when asked and they not...

Issue 4, April 1, 2005 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• MACs: The meat of carrier reform

  After decades of the same system ruling the Medicare fee-for-service program, Medicare...

• One-day stays could get you one step closer to government audit

  Your organization may pride itself on caring for patients efficiently, getting them out the door in...

• Computer-assisted coding not on the horizon

  Only 2% of respondents to a recent HCPro, Inc., benchmarking survey use computer-assisted coding...

• Principal diagnosis delays

  As coders, you're probably used to certain classic presentations of sepsis and the words physicians...

• Preparation, organization keys to surviving audits

  Until he started dealing with Medicare and Medicaid laws in his various roles with the Office of...

Issue 3, March 1, 2005 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Seven C's to compliant coding

  Top-ranked coding hospitals share many of the same traits when it comes to consistent, compliant...

• How to get paid what you're due

  Editor's note: Share this article with your revenue cycle staff to help them understand how they...

• Documentation improvement is not the same for every facility

  Almost every facility can benefit from documentation-improvement efforts. But do those efforts...

• Distinctive documentation, definition details determine your coding

  Our team just finished a tour of audits at a major client's facility. We came up with a slew of...

• Your coders need back-to-basics training

  After years as a coding educator and trainer, I still find it interesting how many coders consider...

Issue 2, February 1, 2005 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• NUBC updates billing with the UB-04

  The National Uniform Billing Committee (NUBC) began work to replace the UB-92 four years ago. The...

• Nine steps to auditing your claims

  Hospitals lose an average of $1,000 per day due to denied claims. Because of these high stakes, it...

• Are you getting credit for CHF care?

  We hear about the various quality initiatives of quality improvement organizations, the quality...

• Dig into your data for better coding, reimbursement

  Low-cost or free data are available to help you track your facility's efficiency and coding...

Issue 1, January 1, 2005 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Inpatient psych PPS final rule out

  CMS finally published the long-awaited final rule about the new prospective payment system (PPS...

• Measure coder nonproductivity to improve efficiency

  Measuring your coding staff's nonproductive time (i.e., time spent doing anything other than...

• Automated coding: Prepare now for future technology

  Part two of a two-part series Automated coding may sound like a futuristic technique light years...

• Correct code depends on clinical circumstances

  By Robert S. Gold, MD In the continuing quest to help coders and physicians understand the same...