By April of last year, seemingly every news station in American was featuring the heroic efforts of physicians, nurses, and other clinicians fighting COVID-19. These providers transformed healthcare, implementing telehealth…
Providers should be aware of these emerging strategies for defending against audits. For years, providers have been plagued with defending claims for medically necessary services that have been denied due…
There are certain key elements of consideration during CDI review of COVID-19 patients. Understanding how to clinically validate sepsis and differentiate between sepsis and septicemia is not easy, and requires…
Skilled nursing facility (SNF) staffing levels across several provider types have fallen since Medicare implemented new payment rules meant to drive value over volume of services, according to a new…
Inpatient hospital stays have become more expensive to the Medicare program. It's a trend that began even before the COVID-19 pandemic. A new report from the Department of Health and…
The Medicare IPO list was doomed years ago. For readers of and listeners to RACmonitor and Monitor Mondays, overthinking things is what we do. It’s the only explanation for our…
Pay attention to dates associated with the new COVID--19 codes, Z20.822 and Z20.828, to avoid billing errors. In December 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced six…
Knee ligaments connect the bones and cartilage, and hold and support the knee joint. Any mild tear in ligaments may severely limit the movement of the knees. Most commonly occurring…
With COVID-19 vaccinations now being administered across the United States, we have compiled this list of medical code sets to account for the treatment and vaccinations for the novel Coronavirus.…
While some have said medical coding sits quietly in the middle of the healthcare revenue cycle, it is a key step that, when done inadequately, can impact each part of…
Estimated savings are $75 million over a decade. Federal officials recently announced a series of changes to the Medicare Advantage (MA) and Part D prescription drug programs they hope will…
Phone call codes during the PHE range from 99441 to 99443, and are all based on time. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services…
CMS just issued a correction to its guidance on 2021 Medicare rules for remote physiologic monitoring (RPM) services. The correction is effective January 1, 2021 and revises the preamble commentary in the…
According to published results, orthopedic residents who received formal medical coding education better identified proper billing codes for common procedures compared with residents who received no coding education. Researchers at…
IFR providers expect that the pandemic as well as new regulatory issues will impact their services. 2020 was certainly a historical year, punctuated by the COVID-19 pandemic and an overwhelming…
The average salary for medical coding professionals varies by location, practice setting and credential. The American Academy of Professional Coders conducts an annual survey to gather information about coder salary…