Inpatient coders are familiar with risk-adjusted methodologies—where a combination of diagnoses lead to higher-weighted code groupings--but many outpatient coders may not have encountered them.
That's likely to change as hierarchical condition category (HCCs)
Q:I understand that most CDI departments develop a standardized list of clinical indicators/criteria to support query efforts. Is this something we need to develop or is it available in the encoder process? If we need to develop this, how do we go about that?...Read More »
According to an informal ACDIS poll, 66% of facilities plan to begin dual coding for ICD-10-CM/PCS in the first quarter of 2014. At Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles, administrators made the decision...Read More »
By the end of 2104, more than 80% of all healthcare providers are expected to implement a CDI program, according to an AHIMA/TrustHCS report “The Growth in the Clinical Documentation Specialist Profession” published in...Read More »
The American Hospital Association threw its support behind proposed legislation that would delay enforcement of the ‘two-midnight’ rule. Originally included in the 2014 IPPS Final Rule, the regulation changes the definition of medical necessity for...Read More »
It’s been more than a decade since the Workgroup for Electronic Data Interchange (WEDI) drafted its last roadmap for healthcare information technology uses. Earlier this month, the WEDI Foundation...Read More »
Q: We recently had a situation where a 72 year old was admitted with large pleural effusion, fever, elevated white blood cell count, and a left shift. The provider also documented acute respiratory failure.
