Laurie L. Prescott, RN, MSN, CCDS, CDIP, CRC, reviews how critical thinking is important within the CDI and coding realm in order to enhance review accuracy and query rates and to help loosen reliance on technological tools such as encoders.
Alba Kuqi, MD, CICA, CCS, CDIP, CCDS, CRCR, CSMC, MSHIM, RHIA, writes that CDI professionals and inpatient coders need to pay attention to the definitions and clinical indicators of acute kidney injury (AKI) to ensure proper ICD-10-CM reporting and reimbursement.
Dawn Valdez, RN, LNC, CDIP, CCDS, says that the clinical indicators used to validate sepsis can also have other possible etiologies that could be equally responsible for the clinical indicators that are present—these are known as competing diagnoses.
Howard Rodenberg, MD, MPH, CCDS, and Lynn Shay, CPHQ , say that making sense of varying COVID-19 case-mix index metrics is an important endeavor that will sometimes require a bit of DIY. In this article, they explain how they were able to unscramble their departments’ COVID-19 case-mix index data.
The kidneys filter waste and excess fluid from the blood. As kidneys fail, these wastes build up. The symptoms of chronic kidney disease (CKD) generally develop slowly and aren't specific to the disease. Often, there are no noticeable symptoms, and the condition is noted incidentally from a diagnostic testing, or the symptoms first appear once the disease course has reached significant impairment.
With most patient charts now housed in EHRs, technology has become a standard part of the healthcare industry. Growing technological adoption, however, means physicians spend an increasing amount of time on computers and using technology.
Trey La Charité, MD, FACP, SFHM, CCS, CCDS, writes that organizations that aren’t reviewing all in-hospital mortality cases are missing some tremendous opportunities to improve reimbursement and documentation.
Pediatric record reviews require a different skill set than those in the traditional adult acute care space. Often, those reviewing these specialized charts are islands within their overall CDI or coding department, acting as the sole pediatric chart reviewer. This article sheds light on how some have perfected these reviews within their department.
Joe Rivet, Esq, CCS-P, CPC, CEMC, CHC, CCEP, CHRC, CHPC, CICA, CPMA, CAC, CACO , summarizes findings from recent Office of Inspector General audits that highlight improper billing of high-level inpatient stays. He also outlines steps hospitals can take to prevent billing errors due to upcoding.
Howard Rodenberg, MD, MPH, CCDS , describes how internal reviews can be used to identify repeated coding errors and prevent payment penalties due to Patient Safety Indicators (PSI) and hospital-acquired conditions (HAC).
A recent Office of Inspector General audit estimates that Medicare improperly paid inpatient hospitals $267 million over a two-year period for transfer services incorrectly billed as discharges. Judith Kares, JD , analyzes documentation and billing rules for acute and post-acute transfers.
The evolution of the role of clinical documentation integrity (CDI) specialists and their impact on coders has changed the landscape of inpatient coding departments. Learn about how to effectively collaborate with CDI professionals when conducting physician queries.
It’s always been easy to show financial return on investment for inpatient CDI endeavors, but the monetary value of outpatient programs is increasing dramatically year after year, making outpatient CDI reviews more attractive to many healthcare organizations.
Review quality reporting metrics such as length of stay and mortality indexes that you can use to assess patient outcomes and improve revenue cycle processes.
It’s common to see CDI job listings that require applicants to be registered nurses. Often an RN credential is not listed as being “preferred,” but required. There are risks, however, with only seeking candidates from this one background.
Ischemic heart disease has a multifactorial etiology and can be prevented from developing in populations primordially and in individuals at high risk by primary prevention.
Let’s face it: Our organizations are under tremendous scrutiny. As the healthcare dollar shrinks, all payers strive to minimize patient care expenses to maintain profit margins.
In part one of this two-part series, Allen Frady, RN, BSN, CCS, CRC, CCDS, gives tips to CDI and coding teams on how to help improve healthcare quality scores by reviewing CMS star rating calculations, department challenges, physician education, and more.
It’s important for inpatient coders to frequently review hospital-acquired conditions (HAC) and present on admission (POA) indicators and the rules governing their assignment in order to ensure proper reimbursement. Part one of a two-part series will review POA indicators in particular.
Alba Kuqi, MD, CICA, CCS, CDIP, CCDS, CRCR, CSMC, MSHIM, RHIA, says with recent audit activity and the Office of Inspector General’s continued scrutiny of malnutrition diagnoses, it’s important to dig into the coding and documentation requirements for this tricky diagnosis, particularly in the case of COVID-19 patients.
