When a patient suffers a traumatic injury or poisoning, we need to report how they became injured and where they were when it happened. You already know this from ICD-9-CM.
Heart disease is the most common cause of death for both men and women in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The most common type is coronary artery disease (CAD), which can lead to heart attacks, heart failure, angina, and arrhythmias, according to the CDC.
While implementation of the long awaited and long overdue ICD-10 coding system is just around the corner, some questions still remain regarding “split billing” based on the October 1, 2015, date of service. Lately, I have been asked questions by billing staff from both PPS and critical access hospitals (CAH) so this may be a good time to clarify how and when to split bill.
The April quarterly I/OCE update from CMS did not defy convention featuring the typically small number of updates following extensive changes in the previous quarter but CMS did continue to clarify
A physician can debride a wound to remove dead, damaged, or infected tissue so the remaining healthy tissue can better heal. Coders need to look for specific information in the documentation of wound debridement.
A few days after Briefings on APCs conducted the interview that appeared in last month's issue with W. Jeff Terry, MD, an AMA delegate from Mobile, Alabama, the AMA and CMS announced an accord regarding ICD-10.
In a joint announcement, the organizations said that CMS would not audit or deny Part B physician fee schedule claims for one year after ICD-10-CM implementation due to lack of specificity. While physicians will still be responsible for meeting medical necessity and LCD and NCD requirements, valid ICD-10-CM codes that include the appropriate first three characters will be sufficiently specific for Medicare claims.
