Denials are exposing operational weaknesses that extend far beyond reimbursement, and hospitals can no longer afford to treat them as an unavoidable cost of doing business.
Some of the most significant HIPAA risks stem from the often overlooked processes where protected health information is collected, handled, and disposed of.
It is no longer enough to confirm that a diagnosis is documented somewhere in the record. The documentation must also clearly demonstrate the clinical severity of the patient’s illness.
As artificial intelligence (AI) moves deeper into healthcare operations, from clinical documentation to coding and decision support, HIM leaders are being pulled into a more central, critical role.
Coding for alcohol- and drug-related disorders requires careful attention to both clinical terminology and the structure of the ICD-10-CM classification system.
