Q: I realize that you cannot compel your staff to complete Occupational Safety and Health Administration training online on their own time. However, I am wondering whether the same applies for HIPAA training. Must this training be conducted during work hours, or can we provide workforce members with a deadline by which to complete training on their own time?
It has been a long time since The Joint Commission has published frequently asked questions (FAQ), which serve as a great resource for clarification of standards and elements of performance. Generally, FAQs originate with questions from the field that continue to be asked over time.
Conducting pre-billing audits can be challenging, but when done correctly, it can save organizations from spending time recoding and rebilling claims that payers deny. These audits can be conducted on the front end, in both inpatient and outpatient settings, once records have been coded.
Mergers and acquisitions in the healthcare industry are often decided upon and negotiated by C-suite staff with involvement from security and IT professionals. However, significant security implications must be considered by both parties prior to, during, and after a merger or acquisition.
In an effort to accommodate the latest advances in technology and make the code set easier to modify for future technological changes, the AMA extensively overhauled codes for reporting drug testing in the 2015 CPT® Manual.
Most coding professionals have heard modifier -59 (distinct procedural service) referred to as a modifier of last resort and to be cautious in using this modifier.