Posts by Norwood Staffing
OIG to Begin Claims Analysis of Sepsis-2; Writing on the Wall for Adoption of Sepsis-3
By Brian Murphy Uh-oh, sepsis-2 defenders, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) might be coming for you. We have a new entry in the OIG Work Plan, “Medicare Inpatient Hospital Billing for Sepsis.” It reads: Sepsis is the body’s extreme response to an infection. It is a life-threatening, emergency medical issue that often progresses quickly…
Read MoreRisk Adjustment, Prior Authorization Under Federal Spotlight at RISE Conference
By Jason Jobes, SVP Solutions Jason@norwood.com Last week I was at RISE in Nashville listening to a couple sessions on compliance. The first was with Christi Grimm from the Office of Inspector General (OIG). She called out three specific areas the OIG is focused on that I want to share here. 1) Medicare Prior Authorization.…
Read MoreBreaking Down ICD-10-CM 7th Characters for Traumatic Fracture Care
Crystal May, CCS, CPC, CDEO, CPMA, CRC, AAPC Approved Instructor Sr. Risk Adjustment Consultant, Norwood Coders often get overwhelmed with coding traumatic fractures, typically due to the numerous 7th characters available. But coding them isn’t as scary as it seems once you understand how they break down. The first question you must ask is, is…
Read MoreBurd(a)’s eye on Medicare Advantage: What does the future hold?
Listen to the full podcast here: https://spotifyanchor-web.app.link/e/U0Dxkanv7Hb I don’t know about you but I’m FASCINATED with Medicare Advantage (MA). Massive growth, fueled by its shrewd marketing of added benefits beyond traditional Medicare. But also chaotic, messy, a program in need of reining in. It’s a bit of the wild west. I like…
Read MoreAAIM vs. GLIM: Evaluating the Best Tool for Diagnosis of Severe and Other Forms of Malnutrition
By Brian Murphy AAIM or GLIM… which is the better tool for diagnosing severe and other forms of malnutrition? A question not without its share of controversy. For U.S. hospitals and healthcare organizations, the answer is AAIM, according to my recent guest on Off the Record, ECU Health Adult Clinical Dietitian Supervisor Ashley Strickland. These…
Read MoreIn Between Jobs? Try these 10 Strategies to Best Use Your Time—and Develop a Healthy Mindset
By Crystal May, CCS, CPC, CDEO, CPMA, CRC, AAPC Approved Instructor I recently had a conversation with a friend who is between jobs and struggling with what to do with their time other than the job search itself. So, I thought I’d share some things folks can do while on the hunt, keeping balance in…
Read MoreMalnutrition Deep Dive: A Conversation with ECU Health’s Ashley Strickland
Listen to the full episode here: https://spotifyanchor-web.app.link/e/S5y8KpFOKHb Listeners of Off the Record may recall our episodes on the OIG audit of severe malnutrition directed at North Carolina based Vidant, now ECU Health. Vidant/ECU won a landmark case against the OIG in large part because it had a multidisciplinary clinical and coding team in place to…
Read MoreMost Common CDI and Coding Queries: What Are Yours?
By Brian Murphy What are your most common CDI or coding queries these days? There are always a few at or near the top (you probably know the culprits), but I was interested to see if there were any shifts based on the continued growth of Medicare Advantage/HCCs, social determinants of health, changes in provider…
Read MoreBombshell ACO Whistleblower Lawsuit Highlights Needs for Accuracy, Not Maximization, of Medical Coding
Note: The following is an editorial and should not be substituted for legal advice or counsel. By Brian Murphy If you’re using a vendor promising “big ROI” from their revolutionary coding software—one that requires harried physicians to pick medical codes from dropdown lists—you are setting yourself up for huge fines and public humiliation. We’ve seen…
Read MoreCDI and Coding Professionals: Indispensable Links in the Chain of Care
By Brian Murphy CDI professionals (and clinically astute coders) can positively impact patient care. How? By being mindful during their chart reviews, noticing documentation discrepancies, and bringing them to the attention of the care team. On the latest episode of Off the Record, Lynne Spryszak, RN, CCDS, gave a couple wonderful examples. Lynne was re-reviewing…
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