To help bring JustCoding members together and let them learn more about their colleagues, JustCoding created a monthly member spotlight to appear in upcoming issues. This month, we are pleased to intoduce Tracy C. Harris, RHIT, CCS, coding manager at New England Baptist Hospital in Boston.
With the expansion of telehealth services, providers for both the originating site and distant site can also count on the expansion of Medicare contractor audits.
Providers should be preparing for another rulemaking cycle from CMS as we hit April, with the IPPS rule expected to include a discussion on how the existing payment system can address new and emerging cellular and gene therapies.
The shift from fee-for-service to value-based programs for outpatient payment systems has increased the need for outpatient CDI staff to review documentation for pertinent clinical factors.
The implementation of an EHR is a multifaceted, comprehensive project for healthcare organizations. Though it affects every department and function in some way, the impact on medical record coding may be the most profound and complicated, with some organizations reporting a 20% decrease in coding productivity after EHR implementation.
The fiscal year (FY) 2018 ICD-10-CM changes have now been active for several months. Though the volume of new codes is relatively small compared to previous updates, the impact on reimbursement has the potential to be quite large.
In 2015, I wrote 44 appeal letters challenging DRG validation/coding denials. In 2016, I wrote 88 appeal letters. Last year, I penned 159. We already received more than 40 DRG validation denials in January of this year. Does this trend sound familiar?
Traditionally, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) Work Plan is released annually with focus areas identified for the upcoming year. However, as of June 2017, the decision was made to update the plan on a monthly basis to promote transparency by demonstrating a continuous effort to ensure compliance.
