I’ve heard that the geometric length of stay (GMLOS) is always rounded to the nearest whole number as inpatient claims are paid by day. Based on my understanding of the inpatient prospective payment system (IPPS), I thought that each inpatient stay is paid by a fixed amount, regardless of the...Read More »
We recently had a patient admitted with severe acute meningitis causing respiratory decompensation. A diagnostic lumbar puncture and mechanical ventilation were both performed during the inpatient stay. Which of the two procedures would be the principal procedure, diagnostic lumbar puncture or...Read More »
Less than a year after CMS finalized the three-year phaseout of the inpatient-only (IPO) list to be completed by 2024, the agency is looking to reverse course, according to the...Read More »
By Laurie L. Prescott, RN, MSN, CCDS, CCDS-O, CDIP, CRC
The American Hospital Association’s (AHA) Coding Clinic always produces surprises. Most people remember the day their first child was born, or the day they moved into their home. I remember the day we were allowed...Read More »
Our providers tend to use the term “RDS” in their documentation to describe all “respiratory distress,” “respiratory distress syndrome of newborn,” and “acute respiratory failure.” Often, we find ourselves querying to clarify/remove RDS when it is in fact respiratory distress and not respiratory...Read More »
