Coding productivity held steady for 2019 but the impact of misalignment between coding and CDI and unanswered physician queries suggest there's room for improvement. HIM Briefings' 2019 coding productivity survey dug into productivity benchmarks, coding accuracy benchmarks, and the impact of workflows and department structure.
One of the most vexing challenges that CDI specialists have is how to engage physicians to completely and precisely document their patients’ conditions and treatments in the language required by ICD-10-CM, which is essential to risk adjustment.
If you aren’t yet confused by the site-neutral payment policy changes prompted by CMS apparently ignoring both Congressional intent and the American Hospital Association (AHA) and other impacted hospitals filing suit, you are likely to become so now.
The 2020 update to the CPT Manual includes extensive updates to cardiovascular codes, including new codes for pericardiocentesis and pericardial drainage, aortic grafting, and endovascular repair procedures.
Carolinas Hospital in Florence, South Carolina, received $431,757 in Medicare overpayments for incorrectly billed inpatient and outpatient services, according to an Office of Inspector General (OIG) audit report released November 26. Based on the sample, the OIG estimates the hospital may have received at least $3.4 million in overpayments.
Q: I'm told, although I'm not convinced, that our payment for Keytruda is denied by Anthem when we use ICD-10-CM code Z51.11 (encounter for antineoplastic chemotherapy) first followed by the code for cancer, i.e., C34.12 (malignant neoplasm of upper lobe, left bronchus or lung). I reviewed the coding guidelines again and that is our instruction. Does anyone have experience with this issue?
