The healthcare industry is continuously evolving, and health information technology (HIT) is changing with it. Organizations should take advantage of the technology available to improve healthcare operations but must be aware of the risks that HIT can present.
Q: I work in long-term care and I am familiar with the language in HIPAA regulations regarding requests for electronic copies of medical records for a reasonable fee according to community standards. However, my company does not maintain its medical records in electronic form, nor do we presently have the capability of converting our paper records into electronic format. Our state legislature addressed the issue of "reasonable charges and community standards" by state statute in 2006 by providing a formula for every medical provider to follow state-wide for copy charges regarding paper copies.
Do your coders ever feel as if they work more hours than most coders? Or perhaps they think their compensation is lower than other coders across the country? Have you ever wondered how your coders compare to the average coder?
Even before ICD-10-CM was delayed until October 1, 2015, the quality of physician documentation to accommodate the new code set was a top concern for the healthcare industry.
The good news is that the rate of 30-day readmissions is going down in hospitals across the nation, according to a CMS report. The bad news is that fines are going up. CMS also added some new conditions to its readmission prevention list for 2015.
In October 2014 a record number of hospitals were fined for excessive care transitions. In total, CMS penalized some 2,610 hospitals, and will assess fines between October 2014 and September of this year. Through these penalties, the government has given hospitals sufficient incentive to revamp their processes with an eye on preventing readmissions and improving transitions.
