According to ICD-10, gone are the days when you had to be chemically dependent on a substance in order to experience withdrawal (I will defer my criticism of that logic…
New study reinforces SDoH impact Focus on the social determinants of health (SDoH) continues to intensify nationwide, and that means potentially higher costs of care for healthcare organizations. The recent…
New Current Procedural Terminology (CPT®) codes have been created that streamline the novel coronavirus testing currently available on the United States market. Among these is a new code to describe…
COVID-19 has continued to spread across the nation, with the current focus shifting to how we can safely return to the office, open schools, play fall sports and more. But…
The nation's largest physician association is seeking to establish a path to payment for extra practice expenses required to care for patients during the COVID pandemic and possible future public…
Findings of a new study demonstrate using ICD 10-based codified algorithm to identify rheumatoid arthritis patients in a claims database has high accuracy. The results, presented at the 14th Annual…
The Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) Final Rule for the 2021 fiscal year has been finalized, including updates to the guidelines that need to be implemented for ICD-10-CM and PCS.…
Nonradiographic axial spondyloarthritis (nr-ax-SpA) will have an ICD-10 code come October. And that gives patients with the condition a chance to feel empowered knowing their diagnosis is accurate. When vendors…
The American Medical Association (AMA) today published an update to the Current Procedural Terminology (CPT®) code set that includes two code additions for reporting medical services sparked by the public…
Even the most vocal critic of the American health care system cannot watch coverage of the current Covid-19 crisis without appreciating the heroism of each caregiver and patient fighting its…
Yesterday, CMS unveiled the highly anticipated Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) final rule for the 2021 fiscal year (FY). Chief among the rule’s updated policies is a 2.9 percent increase…
Merriam-Webster, which tracks changes to the evolution of the English language, added 535 new words and terms to its dictionary this year, such as “COVID-19,” “physical distancing” and “self-isolate.” E/M…
Sunday morning, I received an email from my father’s assisted living facility, indicating that several residents and staff had tested positive for COVID-19 during their newly implemented routine testing of…
During this week’s Monitor Mondays broadcast, Ronald Hirsch, MD, vice president at R1 RCM, reminded listeners how confusing all the waivers and flexibilities associated with the COVID-19 pandemic have been,…
The first major overhaul in more than 25 years to the codes and guidelines for office and other outpatient evaluation and management (E/M) services was included in today’s release of…
Modifier 25 is a particularly meaningful coding tool for physicians who bill for evaluation and management (E/M) services. CPT guidelines define the 25 modifier as “Modifier 25 is defined as…