Don’t hate on hospitals: Navigating the complexities of healthcare reimbursement with Jugna Shah, MPH

off the record

Stop hating on hospitals. It’s a sentiment most Off the Record podcast listeners would probably agree with. But not everyone. Hospitals are under assault in some corners, including the media and in the halls of government. We need a villain and hospitals often find themselves playing the role of fall guy. For example, many blame them…

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Lighting a CDI fire with Tom Brazelton, CDI medical director UW Health

off the record

News flash: Many (most?) physicians aren’t on board with CDI initiatives and coding practice. It’s understandable; they’re busy with patient care, and in their remaining hours are swamped with chart completion. Answering clinical queries and documenting with greater specificity is either seen as a chore or falls by the wayside entirely. Sometimes it takes real-world…

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Payer perspective: A conversation with Colleen Gianatasio

CDI and coding professionals typically recoil from the dreaded word, “payer.” After all, provider-payer relationships are often adversarial at best, hostile at worst. Clarify the diagnosis or procedure with the physician, apply the medical code … only to have the payer downcode or outright deny the claim.    My guest on today’s podcast understands the frustration…

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