One of the goals of medical coding is documenting encounter notes to the highest degree of specificity. ICD-10-CM had some existing codes for documenting foreign bodies entering through a natural…
A Request for Information has been published in the Federal Register (Federal Register :: National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics; Meeting and Request for Information) asking comments on ICD-11…
November is Diabetes Awareness Month, and it seems additionally appropriate to review diabetes when there is a focus on chronic diseases. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), diabetes…
There are false negatives; there are false positives; there are untested individuals with disease. I am in the process of developing a 90-minute COVID-19 webinar for ICDUniversity in December to…
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…
We are learning more every day about the sequela conditions that might arise as a result of COVID-19. The early studies have found decreased lung function that might not be…
CMS recently released the fiscal year (FY) 2021 ICD-10-PCS code set, which includes 544 new codes for Fragmentations of the veins and arteries, Drainages of the pelvic cavity, and Imaging…
Biomedical innovators have mobilized across the world to address COVID-19, from the initiation of clinical trials for potential vaccines to ongoing studies of repurposed medications for potential therapeutic and prophylactic…
Hospitals have relied on a relatively manual process and retrospective audits for coding compliance, but new technology is streamlining the process, allowing providers to get ahead of denials. Healthcare technology…
Billing and coding is always a challenge, but optometrists new to the field of neuro-optometric rehabilitation can find it doubly so, because the charting notes required are very different from…
Doctors and practice administrators are always looking for how to maximize profits. As a coding/billing consultant, chart auditor, and educator, I’m often asked about ways to improve coding. Here are…
Physicians hoping the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) would modify some proposed changes to evaluation and management (E/M) codes got their wish Thursday when the agency issued its…
Over 20% of U.S. children live in a household without consistent access to food. To promote food security among all children and families, the Academy supports screening families using the…
Getting paid requires accurate documentation and selecting the correct codes. In our Coding Case Studies, we will explore the correct coding for a specific condition based on a hypothetical clinical…
It’s the most wonderful time of the year! That’s right, it’s back to school for the kiddos. As the hustle and bustle of the new school year starts and the…
A new year means new codes and new revenue opportunities for medical practices—but also new challenges to ensure the codes are used correctly. Below is a brief summary of new…