Following the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ICD-10-CM/PCS Coordination and Maintenance Committee meeting and public comments and discussion occurring on March 9 and 10, there is lots to follow and stay tuned about in the coding world. This is due to the code freeze being scheduled to end…

I am looking forward to attending the ICD-10 Coordination and Maintenance Committee meeting at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) headquarters this week. Our AAPC members are very anxious to see the changes that will be in the code set this year. As you know, we have had…

This is a very exciting time to be in the field of clinical documentation improvement (CDI), with so many emerging opportunities beyond just reviewing for major complications and comorbidities (MCCs) and complications and comorbidities (CCs). CDI programs are growing into so much more than just a mechanism for reviewing documentation…

The third international consensus definitions for sepsis and septic shock were published on Feb. 22 in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), and the Internet went wild with discussion.

The federal ICD-10 Coordination and Maintenance Committee (C&M) is scheduled to meet March 9 and 10 to discuss proposed changes to the new coding system that became effective last October.

EDITOR’S NOTE: The following is a personal reflection by the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of the Healthcare Billing and Management Association of which she is president. The story I am going to relate in this article could borrow a line from the classic 1989 comedy “When…

Today, February 16, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is holding a New Technology Town Hall Meeting at the CMS Headquarters in Baltimore.

Can you believe we now have been using the ICD-10 code set here in the United States for four months? Time flies. I often receive technical questions from my colleagues and peers about ICD-10 coding – yes, even before implementation, and certainly after. Even with years of experience and skill,…

After all this time, functional quadriplegia is still a dysfunctional medical diagnosis. Around this time in 2008, the Patriots’ perfect season was soon to be ended by the Giants in Super Bowl XLII, and Patrick Swayze would be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. By the end of the year we would…

So, how are we physicians coping with denials?  Despite the many apocalyptic predictions regarding the ICD-10 transition, for healthcare organizations and the nation, ICD-10 has moved along rather swiftly to date. By now, most of us have seen the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) October statement, which noted…