A case manager at a meeting described how the family of a patient was pressuring her to change the patient from outpatient services to inpatient status. If she didn't help, the family pleaded, the patient would face higher costs for postacute care. The case manager bragged about how she held the line, despite the tears. However, others in the room didn't think the details of the case were as black and white as the case manager claimed. And some wondered whether "holding the line" at any cost is really what a case manager should be doing.
The top finding in Joint Commission surveys for the first half of 2013 should be no surprise for HIM professionals. For the last three years, RC.01.01.01 has been No. 1 on the top 10 list of most frequently cited standards in Joint Commission surveys. The good news is that RC.01.01.01 is the only standard from the Record of Care, Treatment and Services (RC) chapter to make the list. The bad news is that this standard and some of its EPs will most likely continue to be a challenge.
Every healthcare organization should develop and implement a policy and a well-defined process that provides guidance for managing incident and breach response.
Editor's note: With the increased specificity required for ICD-10-CM coding, coders need a solid foundation in anatomy and physiology. To help coders prepare for the upcoming transition, we will provide an occasional article about specific anatomical locations and body parts as part of a larger series for ICD-10-CM preparation.
During the January injections and infusions audio conference, Jugna Shah, MPH, president and founder of Nimitt Consulting in Washington, D.C., and Valerie A. Rinkle, MPA, associate director with Navigant Consulting in Seattle, reviewed these scenarios.
