Physicians are quite honestly all over the place on the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA), the legislation that permanently repealed the sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula that for years threatened to cut physician payments by about 20 percent, requiring annual congressional patches.Congress needed to pay for…

Does it seem that the government comes out with major decisions that we in healthcare may not perceive as wise either on a Friday after 5 p.m. or, as in the recent compromise, over a holiday? I can’t help but think of another Great Compromise, which took place on July…

  With the sustainable growth rate (SGR) bill now signed into law, it is time for physicians to really focus on their preparations for the upcoming ICD-10 implementation. ICD-10 will affect every aspect of a physician’s practice, including patient encounters, clinical and financial workflow, as well as compensation and reimbursement.…

Editor’s Note: This is the sixth article in the continuation of a series of articles on clinical documentation improvement by clinical service.  With the repeal of the sustainable growth rate (SGR) in the recently passed H.R. 2 bill, it appears that ICD-10 implementation is on again. Taking into consideration the…

With the recent announcement of the sustainable growth rate (SGR) fix by Congress and the fact that the legislation did not contain any language on ICD-10 delays, the message is clear to the healthcare industry: we need to get ready now.

ICD-10 could live to see another day. The House Appropriations Committee posted the $1.1 trillion spending bill Tuesday night. According to the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) there is no language tucked into the bill that would delay the implementation of ICD-10.

At numerous meetings since the ICD-10 delay was announced, the chasm between large and small providers, entities, and practices has been evident. Obviously, some small groups are well ahead of the pack and some large groups are lagging, but the profound discrepancies keep reappearing. Stanley Nachimson recently commented on the…

Battered and bruised yet intact, like a dazed boxer entering a late round against an unrelenting challenger, the interim final rule for implementing ICD-10 by October 2015 limped into the federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB) last Friday.

Congress has stirred up a hornet’s nest by delaying ICD-10 implementation, and the hornets are those in the healthcare industry who have been diligently preparing for the launch of ICD-10 on October 1. This includes not only healthcare providers, suppliers, and vendors but also the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid…

With the healthcare industry already reeling from shock waves sent last week by the president signing legislation delaying the start of ICD-10 for at least one year, the announcement yesterday that Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius was stepping down after a five-year stint in the Obama Cabinet was…