The shift from fee-for-service to value-based programs for outpatient payment systems has increased the need for outpatient CDI staff to review documentation for pertinent clinical factors.
Providers should be preparing for another rulemaking cycle from CMS as we hit April, with the IPPS rule expected to include a discussion on how the existing payment system can address new and emerging cellular and gene therapies.
With the expansion of telehealth services, providers for both the originating site and distant site can also count on the expansion of Medicare contractor audits.
Joya is waiting at the airport in Norway for her plane to the U.S. when she makes a last-minute decision to purchase travel insurance. She reads the insurance policy and information and realizes it excludes preexisting conditions. Joya has an existing cardiac condition that she knows might void the policy, but she decides to be positive.
Using EHRs to share laboratory results with other hospitals within a system is associated with significant reductions in heart failure and pneumonia mortality scores, according to a study in The American Journal of Managed Care. Results showed a statistical significance of a .24 reduction in pneumonia mortality scores and a .19 reduction in patient heart failure.