Physicians often ask why documentation matters to them. Last week, CMS sent out a reminder regarding the importance of complete and accurate documentation related to physician evaluation and management (E/M) codes.Read More »
When ICD-10-CM was launched last year, CMS said it would allow providers billing Part B physician fee schedule codes a one-year grace period to fully ramp up. During the grace period, the agency would not deny physician claims as long as the codes on the claim were from the correct “family of...Read More »
At this time last year, many CDI specialists, providers, and coders worried about the arrival of ICD-10; some spoke of doomsday scenarios with mountains of claim denials and delayed payments. One year later, the debut of ICD-10 is earning widespread comparisons to Y2K, the turn-of-the-century...Read More »
Physician advisors serve a variety of purposes beyond documentation improvement, including assisting case management, utilization review, quality, and coding departments, among other assignments, according to a recent benchmarking report and survey from ACDIS.Read More »
Q:If a patient is extubated post-operatively but continues to be treated with supplemental oxygen, when is a query for acute respiratory failure appropriate?
A: To determine if this represents acute respiratory failure, the values for...Read More »
It’s been four years since ACDIS asked its members to offer up their thoughts about the role of the physician advisor in clinical documentation improvement efforts. In those four years, much in the CDI world has changed but one thing hasn’t—CDI programs still say the role of the physician...Read More »
Some clinicians may interpret a query as an affront to their clinical judgment. This is not your intent. You are trying to determine whether a condition was present and whether it should compliantly be coded or not.