Coders select E/M levels based on criteria developed by their organization. CMS has proposed a significant change to E/M coding-replacing the current 20 E/M levels for new patients, existing patients, and ED visits with three G codes-but that change would only apply to Medicare patients and only to the facility side.
So what's it like from the HIM professor's point of view? We catch up with 37-year professor Anita Hazelwood, RHIA, FAHIMA, program director of HIM at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
This article is based on the results of MRB's quarterly benchmark survey. This month, we chose to survey respondents on EHR implementation and challenges.
Every healthcare organization should develop and implement a policy and a well-defined process that provides guidance for managing incident and breach response.
In the August and September issues, CMM told you about a recent set of revisions to the discharge planning section of the CMS State Operations Manual. While most of the changes amounted to housekeeping, CMS did take the unusual step of including some non-binding best practice recommendations related to discharge practices. Surveyors won't penalize your organization if you don't follow these recommendations, but experts recommend following the agency's advice whenever possible.
Q. Is it acceptable for admitting and patient registration staff to photograph patients upon check- in for identification purposes? Is it permissible to take pictures of behavioral health patients for the same purpose?
