The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) December 3 announced the implementation of six new ICD-10-CM codes to identify conditions related to COVID-19.
The 2021 OPPS final rule, released December 2, doesn’t pack many surprises, with CMS generally finalizing most policies as proposed or choosing to continue with current policies. This should aid hospitals required to implement many of its policies in just a few short weeks due to the pandemic-disrupted rulemaking cycle.
Q: What type of protected health information (PHI) can be used for marketing? Are authorizations always necessary when using PHI for marketing purposes? If not, what are some situations when patient authorization would not be required?
CMS announced on November 25 that it is building on the flexibilities granted by the Hospitals Without Walls program to launch the Acute Hospital Care at Home program. Under this program, eligible hospitals will be allowed to treat certain inpatients in the patient’s home.
Q: During the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, it has become abundantly clear that the burden from this disease has not been shared equally. Minorities have been disproportionately affected, and many of the problems are due to structural inequalities that existed long before the pandemic began. How can case managers address some of these underlying problems in hopes of improving health equality?
AspenPointe Inc., a Colorado-based mental health and behavioral healthcare provider, reported a breach on November 19 affecting 295,617 individuals, according to the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) breach report.
CMS on November 20 released MLN Matters 12049, which clarifies the effective date and appropriate use of two new National Uniform Billing Committee (NUBC) condition codes.
Q: The 2021 Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) final rule requires providers to transmit all records to Quality Improvement Organizations (QIO) electronically. How can organizations make sure that they are in compliance if they’re not already?
