Healthcare facilities across the world are faced with myriad challenges as they aim to diagnose and treat cases of COVID-19. HHS and the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) have instituted several changes during the nationwide public health emergency, some of which modify HIPAA laws and directly impact healthcare organizations around the country.
Q: Is there is any guidance on ICD-10-CM reporting for screening for COVID-19? For example, a patient was admitted with pneumonia and the physician documented “COVID-19 screening completed–NEGATIVE.” Would it be appropriate to assign ICD-10-CM code Z11.59 (encounter for screening for other viral diseases) for this?
It’s Monday morning and case manager Kim is sitting in her office. She starts her day by printing her patient care unit census. She reads through each of the patient names on the census when one catches her attention.
Q: The new Important Message from Medicare (IM) form must be used starting April 1. What are the most important changes we should be aware of as we adjust to the updated version of the form?
