News & Analysis

May 1, 2012
Briefings on APCs

 Our coding experts answer your questions about  unsuccessful foreign body removal, assigning modifier  -52 for cancelled procedures, new HCPCS codes for April, reporting vaccine administration codes, new composite codes for 2012.

May 1, 2012
Briefings on APCs

Spinal conditions can be congenital, pathologic, or traumatic, and they can affect the vertebrae, spinal cord, muscles, nerves, discs, or a combination of the parts of the spine.

April 1, 2012
Briefings on HIPAA

Q. Please explain in an understandable way for nontechnical individuals what level of encryption is needed for e-mail to be considered secure as defined in the interim final breach notification rule.

April 1, 2012
Case Management Monthly

It's no longer a mere possibility; the Department of Health and Human Services HHS has confirmed its intent to delay the ICD-10 compliance deadline, according to its latest press release.

April 1, 2012
Case Management Monthly

One of the riskiest times for patients comes when they are leaving the hospital and heading home or to aftercare. This is the time when medications are mixed up, follow-up doctors' appointments are missed, or discharge instructions get lost in the fax machine. Poor handoffs with poor communication can lead to unnecessary readmissions.

April 1, 2012
HIM Briefings

In November 2006, CMS published a final rule on the Conditions of Participation (CoP) for hospitals. Among the finalized provisions, there was a five-year window ­given during which CMS permitted orders (including verbal and telephone orders) to be signed by either the ordering physician or another physician responsible for the patient's care (e.g., a covering physician or practice partner). Those five years came to an end on January 27, 2012, meaning that, as of that date, hospitals needed to ensure that their orders were signed only by the ordering practitioner him- or herself. However, in October 2011, CMS released a proposed rule addressing the five-year sunset provision. Per the Federal Register:

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