The IPPS 2019 final rule, released August 3, formally reversed the CMS requirement that a physician’s order must be in the medical record for the hospital to bill for inpatient services under Medicare Part A. But it hasn’t eliminated all the associated headaches related to inpatient admission orders.
Q: I went to a clinic and they asked to scan my driver’s license. They told me it was federal law and that I could not keep my appointment if I did not let them scan it. Were they right?
The roles and responsibilities of the HIM department have been transformed over the past decade. Although many of the core functions—coding, transcription, ROI—remain at the heart of the department, the way these tasks are performed has changed over time. As newer fields such as CDI or revenue integrity grow, they can open up questions about what role the HIM department plays in the organization and move critical HIM functions out of the department’s direct oversight.
The healthcare revenue cycle is changing at break neck speed. Staying up to date on CMS regulations as well as overall payer trends is critical in this time. The National Association of Healthcare Revenue Integrity’s 2018 Revenue Integrity Symposium is one of the best conferences for unbiased education on essential healthcare revenue cycle and revenue integrity topics.
