Medical Billing Blog: Section - Medical Coding
Archive of all Articles in the Medical Coding Section
This is the archive containing links to all articles written in the Medical Coding section of our blog.
Click any of the article links below to read the entire article or browse another section to the right to read articles on another subject.
What it Takes for a Successful EHR Implementation
In a recent article in Harvard Business Review, the former CEO of the Permanente Medical Group Robert M. Pearl, MD relayed his experiences installing an Epic EHR system ten years ago and the factors responsible for a successful EHR implementation. Despite the hefty cost of implementation — in the area of $4 billion — the EHR system quickly proved beneficial in delivering more efficient, accurate patient care because of the right approach, according to the now Chairman of the Council of Accountable Physician Practices. However, not all physicians have such a positive experience. Many remain skeptical the advantages of EHR implementation outweigh the costs and administrative strain. Several Boston physicians …
RCM tip of the day: Start by starting
When seeking to improve revenue cycle management, healthcare organizations should develop a specific plan for each initiative, according to Jim Denny, president and CEO of Navicure. Mr. Denny shared the following tip with Becker’s Hospital Review. “Despite new and ongoing revenue cycle burdens, the real key to making improvements is to start by starting. I always remind our clients to develop a list of needed initiatives for the current year, as well as upcoming years, and approach one or only a few top priority initiatives at a time. For example, if your organization’s days in accounts receivable are through the roof, start by leveraging a data analytics tool to understand …
How to Collaborate for EHR Usability
The number of health IT developers and products has increased significantly as a result of federal incentives for EHR adoption but correlates with the rise of provider dissatisfaction with the usability of these systems. What providers expect from their EHR systems and what health IT developers deliver have proved not to be one in the same. This disconnect points to the need for the latter to focus on the needs of the former and deliver EHR technology that is user-centered. Therefore, collaboration between health IT developers and clinical end-users is key to ensuring EHR systems are user-friendly in an industry rapidly adopting new technologies year after year to tackle new …
Configuring a chargemaster for medical services
Configuring a chargemaster for medical services is like constructing a building. The more complex the building (or medical services), the more planning, skill, and manpower needed to do the job. The chargemaster of a primary hospital will be different from a tertiary hospital with more acute specialty services. The volume of services rendered gives an estimate of the volume of chargemaster transactions, while the variety and complexity of services rendered gives an idea of the resources needed. Dedicated training, level of expertise, attention to details, and the skill of the chargemaster team determine a successful outcome. The Basics 1. Know your payers and its policies (i.e. what Medicare Jurisdiction the …
Incident-to Coding: Physician vs. Non-physician Provider
Question: Our practice needs to make sure that “incident-to” guidelines are being followed? Part of the Medicare guidelines is that the physician must stay involved in the patient’s care, but they don’t give a specific timeframe. If the patient only sees the non-physician provider (NPP) once or twice a year, and only sees the physician every two to three years, would Medicare consider that as the provider staying involved in the patient’s care? Answer: Once upon a time… Continue reading this article
