Author: Harris, Shelly; Kelly, Jeannie

Source: Journal of AHIMA - Coding Notes | Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: October 2015

As the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS’) Probe and Educate Initiative draws to a close and the 2016 Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) proposed rules are released for comment, questions remain for the healthcare industry regarding expectations for selecting pati....

Author: Leonard, Janis

Source: Journal of AHIMA | Journal of AHIMA - Coding Notes

Publication Date: May 2017

Prior to the implementation of ICD-10-CM/PCS, Albany Medical Center (Albany), based in Albany, NY, was struggling with attracting qualified coding candidates. Despite recruitment efforts including sign-on bonuses and incentive pay, Albany was unable to maintain staffing levels to meet the....

Author: Maimone, Carol

Source: Journal of AHIMA - Coding Notes | Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: March 2015

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released a final rule providing required adjustments to the Medicare hospital outpatient prospective payment system (OPPS) and the Medicare ambulatory surgical center (ASC) payment system for calendar year (CY) 2015 on October 31, 2014.....

Author: Clack, Crystal

Source: Journal of AHIMA - Coding Notes | Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: March 2016

On October 30, 2015, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) finalized changes to the Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System and Ambulatory Surgical Center (ASC) payment system for calendar year (CY) 2016. The OPPS payment rates and policies impact approximately 4,000....

Author: Stanfill, Mary H

Source: Journal of AHIMA - Coding Notes | Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: April 2015

The call for HIM professionals to develop measures and metrics that guide HIM efforts is not entirely new. Linda Kloss, MA, RHIA, FAHIMA, president of Kloss Strategic Advisors and former chief executive officer at AHIMA, discussed the importance of these measures in a Journal of AHIMA art....

Author: Warner, Homer R. Jr.

Source: Journal of AHIMA - Coding Notes

Publication Date: September 2000

As HIM vendors strive to perfect automated coding, one supporting technology has reached an exciting stage of development. Natural language processing (NLP) is a major challenge for the computer industry because of the complexity and variability of human speech. NLP differs from simple word s....

Author: Nelson, Tanai S; Benjamin, Christina

Source: Journal of AHIMA - Coding Notes

Publication Date: July 2009

Correctly coding casts, splints, and strapping can be confusing. Much of the confusion is related to what type of materials are classified as casts, splints, or strapping; whether the CPT application codes or the HCPCS level II codes should be assigned; and whether the work performed is includ....

Author: Merriweather, Kay; Slater, Leslie; Bohley, Michele

Source: Journal of AHIMA - Coding Notes | Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: July 2017

“If it’s not documented, it wasn’t done.” This is one of the first axioms health information management (HIM) professionals learn. HIM professionals have witnessed the evolution of quality documentation, with patient education becoming the center of healthcare in th....

Author: Endicott, Melanie; Gardner, Amy

Source: Journal of AHIMA - Coding Notes

Publication Date: October 2009

The HIM field continues to expand and change, opening up more opportunities for HIM practitioners to move out of the HIM department and into other areas of the hospital. Recent initiatives, such as ICD-10-CM/PCS, MS-DRGs, Hospital-Acquired Conditions, and Present on Admission reporting, have b....

Author: Bryant, Gloryanne H.; Haik, William E; Hillstrom, Heidi

Source: Journal of AHIMA - Coding Notes | Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: January 2015

Clinical documentation improvement (CDI) efforts have become a mainstay within hospitals, outpatient care facilities, physician practices, and post-acute care settings. CDI programs have a far-reaching impact on today’s data-centric healthcare system. When the appropriate level of detail....