Posts Tagged ‘cdi and coding’
Where Are We With Sepsis? Read our latest report to find out.
By Brian Murphy Download the report here. Sepsis is deadly, prevalent, and expensive to treat, and therefore capturing it in documentation and coded data among the highest priorities of mid-revenue cycle professionals. It’s also one of the most difficult diagnoses to capture and the most at-risk, prone to denials and regulatory scrutiny. And there are…
Read MoreFifth Universal Definition of Myocardial Infarction (MI) published: What it says for your CDI, coding, and clinical teams
The Fifth Universal Definition of Myocardial Infarction (MI) has been published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. What is the new definition? The fifth definition removes the fourth definition’s numerical classification (i.e., MI types 1, 2, 3, 4a, 4b, 4c, 5) and replaces them with three categories: Primary MI, Secondary MI, and…
Read MoreDownload Coding in the Gray: Why Human Judgment Still Matters (part 2 of a 2-part series)
Download the report on our resources page. There is a LOT of talk these days about automation. Autonomous coding solutions that can code with near-perfect accuracy—and no human intervention. Providers picking a code from a drop-down menu, enabled by a computer-generated prompt, and voila: Maximized billing and denial-proof revenue. We’re not buying it. We’ve been…
Read MoreHow Norwood changed an organization’s CMI trajectory–to the tune of $2.56M
A drop in case mix index (CMI) isn’t necessarily indicative of a problem. A high-performing surgeon leaves your hospital, observation cases tick up seasonally, and you get a short-term drop. But flagging CMI over time warrants a closer look. Last year Norwood was asked to partner with an organization to focus on assessing and improving CDI performance. The CFO asked for an initial focus on CMI lift after long-term financial concerns. Norwood placed a three-person team to help…
Read MoreThe Great Sepsis War rages on; will we see a truce, or a winner?
By Brian Murphy The Great Sepsis War rages on. The infection itself, which kills hundreds of thousands every year, but also in the hallowed halls of coding classification. Where in the A41.9 will we end up with this deadly but controversial infection? (aside: sepsis isn’t funny, but the rage elicited over conflicting definitions and…
Read MoreDo you follow the GOLD standard for COPD diagnosis and management, mid-revenue cycle professionals?
By Brian Murphy Are you following the GOLD standard for COPD diagnosis and management? Medscape has a great article and video on this underreported diagnosis by Dr. Neil Skolnik. See link below. Here’s why I recommend it. As always with articles of this sort I caveat that I’m not a clinician and I have a…
Read MoreFrom Encephalopathy to Edema: Talking chart review with Dr. Tarman Aziz
Listen to the episode here. I’m consistently surprised at how few CDI or IP coding professionals talk about their most basic job function. The very reason they are hired, and what most do for eight hours a day. I’m talking about chart review. Go on Linkedin or Facebook and it’s rarely discussed. Yet it’s … everything. Nuanced, complex, clinical, critical to the quality of financial health of hospitals. It’s how patient acuity is expressed in coded data, how hospitals get paid, and why CDI and coding professionals are employed. …
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 MoreFrom meeting planner to medical coder … meet UC Davis’ star director of CDI and coding, Tami McMasters Gomez
Tami McMasters-Gomez, BS, CCS-P, CDIP, CCDS, (MHL), is the Director of CDI and Coding Operations at UC-Davis Health in California. She has ultimate oversight of 80 employees, a team that is busy querying, coding, and abstracting data for a huge organization that includes its flagship 646-bed multispecialty academic medical center. Tami is a bright light…
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