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Issue 11, November 1, 2016 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Letter from the editor: Accessing your newsletter content

  The challenges healthcare professionals tackle each day don’t wait for solutions, and neither...

• A new sepsis definition: Finding coding compliance at a crossroads

  This article is part two of a two-part series on the definition changes for sepsis. Reread part one...

• Has your CDI program shifted its focus for optimal PSI 15 performance?

  The recent adoption of a refined version of the Patient Safety Indicator (PSI) 90 composite by the...

• New clinical criteria definitions in 2017 Official Guidelines up the ante for coders

  The new guideline for code assignment and clinical criteria in the 2017 ICD-10-CM Official...

Issue 10, October 1, 2016 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Ready CDI teams for CMS' proposed expansion of mandatory ortho episode payment models

  If your hospital resides in one of the 67 metropolitan statistical areas (MSA) required to...

• Computer-assisted coding: Where are we today?

  In our computer-savvy tech world, the medical field has been notoriously slow to respond to newer...

• Key attributes for coders moving forward amidst the 2017 coding guideline changes

  Resiliency is the ability to spring back or rebound. In sports, it's one of the mental attributes a...

Issue 9, September 1, 2016 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• CMS' 2017 IPPS final rule released

  CMS released the fiscal year (FY) 2017 IPPS final rule August 2, and ICD-10-CM/PCS code changes and...

• 2017 IPPS final rule and claims-based measures

  The fiscal year (FY) 2017 IPPS final rule was released August 2 and will be published in the...

• Correctly documenting and coding altered mental status and encephalopathy

  Last month, I wrote about the role of coding and CDI compliance in ensuring the clinical validity...

Issue 8, August 1, 2016 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Postoperative respiratory failure's introduction into the CMS value-based reimbursement model

  The accurate capture of acute respiratory failure has been a long-standing challenge for CDI...

• Using data to drive physician engagement

  "You are your own best teacher," or so the old adage goes. Sure, goodies and gifts are...

• AHIMA practice brief addresses clinical validity and coding compliance

  We as coders, clinical documentation specialists, and compliance officers, are actively invested in...

• CMS releases 2017 ICD-10-CM codes

  CMS has released the final list of new and revised ICD-10-CM codes available for reporting...

Issue 7, July 1, 2016 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• PSI 90's transformation into the Patient Safety and Adverse Events Composite

  The fiscal year (FY) 2017 IPPS proposed rule alerted us to some significant changes to Patient...

• Coding Clinic gives direction on heart failure, obstetrics, and linking language

  The last few weeks have brought us some direction, though, including the release of approximately...

• Robert S. Gold, 1942?2016

  If you've ever read an issue of HCPro's flagship newsletter HIM Briefings, if you've ever...

• BCCS welcomes Dr. James S. Kennedy to "Clinically Speaking"

  Allow me to introduce myself as the new columnist for the "Clinically Speaking" section...

• Coding corner: Tips for accurately reporting bronchoscopy procedures in ICD-10-PCS

  Following are some ICD-10-PCS documentation and coding tips for three of the most common (and...

Issue 6, June 1, 2016 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• ICD-10 transition leads to extensive MS-DRG classification proposals for FY 2017

  The FY 2017 IPPS proposed rule includes updates to payment rates and quality initiatives, but some...

• Claims-based quality proposals and cost measures?hold on to your seats!

  The FY 2017 IPPS proposed rule released April 27 is replete with modifications and expansions to...

• Something for everyone in IPPS proposed rule

  On April 18, CMS issued its anticipated IPPS proposed rule for FY 2017. This year's proposed...

Issue 5, May 1, 2016 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Survey respondents share challenges, successes

  In February 2016, just four months after ICD-10 go-live, sister publication HIM...

• CMS, payers agree on set of quality and cost measures to link payment

  Clinical documentation and coding has a significant impact on value-based quality outcome...

• High-pertension: A coder's perspective of reporting hypertension

  ICD-10 has brought us I10 (essential [primary] hypertension). Some of us thought "That's a...

Issue 4, April 1, 2016 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Joint replacement model requires CDI evolution

  Under the CJR, which began April 1, acute care hospitals in selected geographic areas assume...

• Sepsis 3.0: Progress or peril?

  The Third International Consensus Definitions for Sepsis and Septic Shock (Sepsis-3)¹ as...

• Thinking about diseases of the brain

  There have been some significant changes in documentation needs for diseases of the brain since...

Issue 3, March 1, 2016 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Coding Clinic for CDI: Reassessing debridement documentation for ICD-10-PCS

  The AHA's Coding Clinic for ICD-10-CM/PCS, Third Quarter 2015, opens with a discussion of...

• Focus on five tricky diagnoses in ICD-10

  From a clinical documentation improvement (CDI) standpoint, ICD-10-CM/PCS implementation seems to...

• Take a look at similar root operations involving body part removal in ICD-10-PCS

  The root operation identifies the intent of the procedure. It is identified in the third character...

• Coding is about more than DRG maximization

  Since the dinosaurs roamed the earth (OK, since 1983), coding professionals have been tasked with...

• Training tool: ICD-10-PCS codes

  Use the quiz below to test your knowledge of ICD-10- PCS codes for Bypass surgeries of the lower...

• Coding Q&A

  Our experts answer questions about ICD-10 guidance, cardiology documentation, and more. 

Issue 2, February 1, 2016 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Determine when to charge beyond the room rate for ancillary bedside procedures

  To charge or not to charge?that is the question. Determining whether a hospital can charge for...

• An introduction to the Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement payment model

  Approximately 800 hospitals across the country that perform inpatient total hip and knee joint...

• What's coming next: Potential risks for coding errors with ICD-10

  The new ICD-10 system and its inherent errors, especially in ICD-10-PCS, has provided fertile...

• Training tool: ICD-10-CM quiz

  Use the quiz below to test your knowledge of ICD-10-CM codes for congenital malformations of the...

Issue 1, January 1, 2016 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Audits, education, and collaboration are key to reducing query rates

  by Doreen V. Bentley   The transition to ICD-10-CM/PCS has certainly added another layer to...

• When a respiratory complication isn't: Who can you trust?

  Sometimes you see documentation in the medical record entered by one physician and then by nobody...

• 2016 post-ICD-10 apocalypse

  I first attended a lecture on the "upcoming" ICD-10 changes that were expected in 1991...

• Briefings on Coding Compliance Strategies 2015 index

  Looking for a past BCCS article? Find what you need with the 2015 index.