Q: I have a patient whose chief complaint was shortness of breath (SOB) and, after studies, the patient was found to have moderate to large B/L pulmonary embolism (PE) and extensive B/L lower extremity deep vein thrombosis (DVT). The coding staff is using the PE as the principal...Read More »
Sepsis, a dangerous outcome triggered by an infection, can be fast-moving, debilitating, and fatal.
Now researchers are finding that even those who survive tissue damage and organ failure caused by sepsis can have a higher risk of “late death,” defined as mortality within two years of...Read More »
by Lori-Lynne A. Webb, CPC, CCS-P, CCP, CHDA, COBGC, CDIP
The diagnosis of obesity is one of the more difficult documentation matters that CDI specialists likely face. It’s a complicating factor in many areas of healthcare, and its effect on care is multifold.
Q: I have a patient with Stage 4 lung cancer that presented with fatigue, cough, and loss of appetite. Initially, the physician documented possible pulmonary nodular amyloidosis (PNA) but following an echo-cardiogram on day one they found a pericardial effusion (malignant). The...Read More »
The Third International Consensus Definitions for Sepsis and Septic Shock (Sepsis-3)¹ as published on February 23 in the Journal of the American Medical Association represents a radical departure from the prior sepsis definitions in 1991² (...Read More »
More than 700 ACDIS members registered to participate in last week’s ACDIS Quarterly Conference Call. The calls, part of ACDIS membership benefits, features members of the Advisory Board who weigh-in on concerns of the day and respond to participants’ pre-submitted questions.