In 1994, the Indiana Heart Institute decided to implement a dedicated cardiovascular quality data abstraction team. In 1996, the hospital expanded the team’s duties to include CDI responsibilities. This revised team obtained the information necessary for coding, as well as all the information...Read More »
In 2009, HCPro's Revenue Cycle Institute conducted an in-depth study on recovery audit contractor (RAC) preparedness among healthcare providers. It garnered 717 responses from all four RAC jurisdictions. Respondents hailed from healthcare providers of various sizes: 25% came from hospitals with...Read More »
Septicemia has been problematic for some time. Coders often misunderstand the ICD-9-CM Official Guidelines for Coding and Reporting as it pertains to the sequencing of the assigned codes, says Shannon E. McCall, RHIA, CCS, CCS-P, CPC, CPC-I, CCDS, director of HIM
Colleagues, as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act implementation progresses, the quality and outcomes of care face increasing public scrutiny. Policymakers will determine our complication rates and publicize them on the Internet,...Read More »
by Glenn Krauss, RHIA, CCS, CCS-P, CPUR, C-CDI, CCDS
As CDI specialists, we find ourselves trying to keep the attention of our physician audience. The ability to positively engage the physician depends on continually illuminating the direct correlation between accurate and...Read More »
DRG (diagnosis-related groups) validation issues have been the main target of RAC (recovery audit coordinators) nationwide in recent months. When unclear documentation results in improperly assigned DRGs, it puts facilities at risk for RAC denials. However, an effective clinical documentation...Read More »
Our inpatient CDI program has had at least some hand in quality since I first began working in CDI in 2013. I remember being handed a paper with a table of Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) indicators during orientation. At...Read More »
