News & Analysis

May 1, 2016
Briefings on APCs

Last year, as ICD-10 implementation approached, organizations throughout the U.S. reported varying levels of comfort with regard to readiness and understanding of the impact of ICD-10 on physician workflow. For some, it was business as usual. For other physicians, ICD-10 became one more check box on the list of reasons to leave practice.

April 1, 2016
HIM Briefings

Last year, as ICD-10 implementation approached, organizations throughout the U.S. reported varying levels of comfort with regard to readiness and understanding of the impact of ICD-10 on physician workflow. For some, it was business as usual. For other physicians, ICD-10 became one more check box on the list of reasons to leave practice.

March 23, 2016
Medicare Insider

This week’s note is about documentation and billing of chiropractic treatment. 

March 22, 2016
Medicare Insider

This week’s updates include implementation of the award for Jurisdiction A DME MAC workload; April 2016 Integrated Outpatient Code Editor (I/OCE) Specifications Version 17.1; and more!

March 1, 2016
HIM Briefings

Over-querying is a common concern in CDI. It can influence productivity and workflow. It can cause delays in documentation and coding processes. It can also overwhelm and frustrate physicians, who in turn may be less likely to support or engage with CDI program efforts.

February 1, 2016
HIM Briefings

Clinical documentation improvement (CDI) programs are prevalent in many hospitals and have evolved over the years. In 2014, 66% of 318 hospitals surveyed by AHIMA had a CDI program in place. If all surveyed facilities that planned to implement a CDI program did so, 80% of responding hospitals would have one. These numbers are likely even higher today as CDI programs become ever more relevant.

CDI programs can be a valuable bridge between clinical care and coding at hospitals. By concurrently reviewing clinical documentation in medical records and ­conferring with and educating providers, CDI teams continually support accurate documentation. When CDI program staff collaborate with providers and coders around improved documentation, the result is more accurate coding, reporting, quality metrics, and reimbursement.

Greater detail in clinical documentation is required since the introduction of ICD-10, making CDI efforts even more relevant. In addition, healthcare is steadily moving toward value-based purchasing and greater scrutiny from regulators and the public. With all of this in mind, it is more important than ever to get documentation and coding right. The daily activities surrounding CDI are crucial to successful outcomes and sustainability of facilities and healthcare systems.

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