In advance of ICD-10-CM/PCS, many institutions implemented computer-assisted coding (CAC) hoping to mitigate the anticipated productivity losses, but research has confirmed suspicions that there is an inverse relationship between coding productivity and accuracy.
CMS, the Veterans Health Administration, and some states measure our care quality based on risk-adjusted readmission rates after inpatient admissions. In fact, up to 3% of our hospital’s Medicare inpatient revenue (used to pay physician subsidies) is at risk if we don’t manage our patients’ readmissions in concert with Medicare’s algorithms.
CMS’ Chronic Care Management service is aimed at strengthening access to chronic care management services in primary care settings while reducing costs, and a report on the program prepared by Mathematica Policy Research for CMS indicates its doing just that.
Auditing of technical controls is increasingly important as both the level of use and technical sophistication of applications, hardware, and networking increase.
