Comply with the new signature requirements for lab requisitions: How HIM can help

March 2, 2011
HIM Briefings

After 10 years, the requirements for signatures on lab requisitions are still in flux; CMS published the latest change to the lab signature requirements in the 2011 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) final rule published in the Federal Register November 29, 2010.

Comply with MM.04.01.01 documentation requirements

March 2, 2011
HIM Briefings

I promised in a previous “Standards of the month” column that I would address Joint Commission standard MM.04.01.01 (orders for medication are clear and accurate), as this standard made it onto the 2010 top 10 list of standards with which hospitals were noncompliant. In fact, 30% of hospitals failed to comply with it.

Dealing with RACs: How hospitals managed in 2010

March 2, 2011
HIM Briefings

In 2010, HCPro’s Revenue Cycle Institute conducted its second annual in-depth study on RAC preparedness among healthcare providers. The results are now in: RAC audits have picked up, but preparation and education are still under way for many, and HIM plays an important role.

HIPAA refresher: Privacy for minors and more

February 2, 2011
HIM Briefings

Use this tool to test staff members’ HIPAA knowledge.

Master excision, extraction, and resection: ICD-10-PCS root operation case studies

March 2, 2011
HIM Briefings

It will take time for coders to become comfortable translating terminology used in physician documentation to root operation terminology used in ICD-10-PCS, according to Lolita M. Jones, RHIA, CCS, independent consultant in Fort Washington, MD, who spoke during HCPro’s November 18, 2010, audio conference, “ICD-10-PCS Surgery Coding: Understand and Apply Five Medical Surgical Root Operations.” But Jones thinks coders will get there eventually.

ICD-10: A change that makes sense

March 2, 2011
HIM Briefings

There is something coming down the pike that will affect every one of you—a new coding system for epidemiology of disease: ICD-10.