This week’s Medicare updates include a new NCA on artificial hearts and related devices, the advance notice for 2021 Medicare Advantage rates and policies, two memos for hospitals regarding coronavirus considerations, and more!
Providers need to clean up coding for electro-acupuncture devices, according to CMS. Claims submitted with HCPCS code L8679 will be subject to additional scrutiny to ensure they're correct.
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) sent out a bulletin on February 3 to remind hospitals of information-sharing protocols when dealing with an outbreak of infectious disease or an emergency situation such as the novel coronavirus.
The American Thoracic Society and Infectious Diseases Society of America recently published guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of adults with community-acquired pneumonia. The updated guidelines are an attempt to better identify patients at risk for pneumonias due to multidrug-resistant bacteria such as Gram-negative rods and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.
Q: The recent hurricanes around Florida have reminded us we need to prepare for physical disasters. What are some good ways to secure PHI when we know we've got weather that can potentially physically destroy buildings and potentially do damage to things like servers?
