Ask the Expert

Our facility is looking into outsourcing our transcription. What should we consider before we make the leap?

Q: I work in a skilled nursing facility and would like to post the level of assistance needed and precautions on a dry erase board in patients’ rooms for nursing assistant use. Is this allowed?

What is a good strategy for sharing denials data with the medical staff to ensure they understand weaknesses?

What is the weakest/worst-case scenario for the structure of a case management department?

Q: Is it appropriate to query whether a pressure ulcer was present on admission (POA) if it was not documented until later in the admission?

Q: We are revamping our coding department at our facility after acquiring new sites and wanted to know what types of positions and roles our staff should have. Do you have any advice?

Q: Does sending a generic “happy birthday” postcard to patients during their birthday month violate HIPAA rules?

Our experts answer questions about reporting modifier -25 before a surgical procedure, querying for pressure ulcer stages, and more.

Q: How do we know if our facility is performing too many patient tests? What can we do to prove the tests are medically necessary?

Q: Is it a violation of the HIPAA Privacy Rule to make a comment while working at a pharmacy that “we’ve seen a lot of flu cases”?