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…
CMS has announced a glitch in the quality reporting measures brought upon by the changes in the ICD-CM (Clinical Modification) and ICD-PCS (Procedural Coding System) updates that went into affect…
Nearly a quarter of all U.S. hospitals now outsource some or all coding functions. Ninety percent of hospitals over 150 beds currently outsourcing their CDI processes reported in Q3 to…
Q: Our office is having a difficult time reaching patients within the required two business days from discharge for transitional care management (TCM) codes. Will this preclude us from billing…
As the largest outsource coding provider in the country we have identified trends and gained unique insights from our coders throughout the transition to ICD-10. We are sharing these insights…
How lenient are major health insurers willing to be when it comes to accepting providers' ICD-10 claims? Humana and UnitedHealthcare are giving latitude in the specificity of the new codes,…
After a number of delays, and much anticipation, the implementation of ICD-10 is finally underway as of Oct. 1. But with all the competition in the job market this year…
Here are some quotes from physicians after the first few days of the ICD-10 coding transition taken from Medical Economics' ICD-10 Diary project. "Well here we are, 48 hours into…
The ultimate irony of a long standing ICD-10 to Y2K comparison is that – after all the years of debate, disdain and doomsday predictions – it now appears that the…
With less than two weeks to go on transitioning to ICD-10, our industry continues to struggle with understanding what is happening, why, and the impact to clients, providers and paychecks.…
Unless you've been living in a cave, you are probably aware that come Oct. 1, 2015, the old ICD-9 coding system will be completely replaced with a "newer version": ICD-10.…