Patients who survive sepsis infections face a long battle with cognitive and physical decline, according to research from University of Michigan Health System physicians that will be published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) today, Oct. 27. Theodore "Jack"...Read More »
A recent MLN Matters article has changed the official coding guidelines to define what documentation can be used for assigning secondary diagnoses, leaving some CDI specialists worried that it provides RACs with the ability to invalidate any diagnoses not specifically documented by the...Read More »
Kaiser Permanente recently donated its electronic database of medical terminology to the National Library of Medicine and the International Healthcare Terminology Standards Development Organization, which oversees the current international standard medical terminology dictionary. Kaiser’s...Read More »
Realizing that the go-live date won’t change, some facilities already have organization-wide ICD-10 implementation strategies in place. If your CDI program hasn’t yet been involved in ICD-10 discussions or if your facility hasn’t starting the planning process yet, consider incorporating elements...Read More »
Recent approval of a RAC issue for inpatient hospital claims review has initiated uncertainty and places an onus on providers to lean on CMS guidance and policy manuals. The issue, “inpatient admissions without a physician’s inpatient admit order,” can be referenced in the Medicare Claims...Read More »
As facilities vie for government incentives to implement electronic health record systems they may find CDI programs provide a hidden benefit.
The biggest challenge related to meeting governmental standards for “meaningful use” of EHR “is that they require physician documentation and...Read More »
Confusing coding guidelines and insufficient documentation have made neoplasms a target area as HealthDataInsights—the RAC for Region D—recently said it will take a closer look at MS-DRGs 837–948.
“…[T]here are opportunities for error within this subset of MS-DRGs,” says Paul Evans,...Read More »
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently approved the first “medical necessity review” audits for the recovery audit contractor (RAC) program,...Read More »
