The New York City Fire Department (FDNY), which operates ambulances, disclosed in August that 10,253 patients treated or transported by the FDNY from 2011 to 2018 may have had their protected health information (PHI) compromised after an external hard drive containing unencrypted data went missing in March, according to an FDNY press release.
Q: A patient presents to a wound care clinic for assessment of a 15 sq. cm open wound. A nurse evaluates the wound for size, depth, and evidence of inflammation and performs sharp selective debridement. Would it be appropriate to bill an E/M code and if so, should we report modifier -25?
This week's note from the instructor delves into the key policies from the 2020 Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) final rule which revenue cycle staff need to familiarize themselves with prior to implementation on October 1, 2019.
Q: Is there anything that a hospital needs to do regarding HIPAA and the confidentiality of famous patients? Obviously employees shouldn’t snoop, but can you recommend any added protections?
CMS’ inpatient-only rule seems simple enough on the surface—certain specified procedures, all noted in the OPPS inpatient-only list, must be performed on an inpatient basis regardless of the patient’s expected length of stay. But as with anything in healthcare, implementing this rule is hardly simple, and many organizations continue to misapply it and lose revenue as a result. Get expert answers to common inpatient-only compliance stumbling blocks.
