Clinical documentation improvement programs can enhance the clinical record and capture lost reimbursement. But they can be a challenge. Getting physician buy-in, avoiding turf wars between documentation specialists, coders, and nurses, and measuring program success are just a few of the challenges many facilities face with their programs. Below are a few tricks of the trade on running a successful CDIP, lent by experienced clinical documentation specialists. (more…)
2009 Proposed Payment Rules Available
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has published proposed rules for OPPS and ASC PPS in 2009.
2009 OPPS
CMS projects that proposed CY 2009 payment rates under the outpatient prospective payment system (OPPS) will result in a 3.2 percent increase in Medicare payment for providers paid under the OPPS.
A Consumer Checklist for Medical Identity Theft
Medical identity theft is a fast-growing and lucrative form of identity theft. The Journal’s July practice brief offers guidance on how HIM professionals and others can work together to prevent, investigate, and mitigate the damage that such theft causes.
The brief also offers a downloadable checklist for individuals who have been the victims of medical identity theft. The checklist includes steps consumers can take in response to a theft, including contact information for appropriate agencies they can notify.
The July issue examines coding’s biggest challenges today, as well as their solutions. The issue also reports on the CARE instrument, three successful HIM-led clinical documentation improvement programs, and how coding supervisors keep current in an ever-changing environment. (more…)
Preparing for ICD-10 barely made the top 10 in the Journal’s July coding challenges poll. That’s largely a reflection of the more immediate challenges coding professionals have on their desks right now. Without an implementation date, preparing for ICD-10 is likely to take a back seat in many organizations.
However, transitioning successfully to the new code set will take a lot of preparation. AHIMA has been preparing ICD-10 materials for several years now. They are available from a special ICD-10 page on the AHIMA Web site and in the FORE Library: HIM Body of Knowledge (accessible through the MyAHIMA member log-in on the home page).
In particular, the practice brief “ICD-10 Preparation Checklist” outlines a multiyear plan divided into four major phases. The article “Why ICD-10 Is Worth the Trouble” frames the high-level case for healthcare’s need for a contemporary coding system.
