CMS finalized a documentation and coding adjustment (DCA) of -2% for fiscal year (FY) 2012, according to the inpatient prospective payment system (IPPS) final rule. CMS originally proposed a year-over-year reduction of 0.5% in payments to acute care hospitals, including a DCA of -3.15%. However, CMS finalized a cut of 2%, a decrease from 2.9% in FY 2011, which translates to $1.13 billion more in hospital payments in FY 2012 than hospitals received the previous year.
Q A fax containing PHI is sent to an incorrect fax number. Did the covered entity (CE) or business associate (BA) violate HIPAA? Must the patient disclosure accounting record include this incident?
Undocumented policies and procedures are among the top five stumbling blocks to HIPAA compliance that Chris Apgar, CISSP, finds when he audits healthcare organizations.
Sometimes the best care a patient can receive in the ED is to not be treated there at all. They can often have treatment needs and do received meds, but that does not necessarily entail an admission.
