Talk Ten Tuesdays is continuing its reporting on the unprecedented changes occurring this decade in the world of healthcare coding. Coders and health information management (HIM) professionals need to retool in order to meet new challenges brought about by artificial intelligence, as well as by social and political changes already underway. With profound healthcare upheaval taking place here and globally, we asked Ginna Evans, the new president and board chair of the American Health Information ...
Jan 21, 2020•32 min•Ep. 399
The coding world in 2020 will be a new landscape of challenges for coders as well as health information management (HIM) professionals. And to help you and your team prepare for what lies ahead in the New Year, Gloryanne Bryant, a well-known, national coding and HIM leader, returns to the Talk Ten Tuesdays broadcast with her report on six major issues confronting coders this year and beyond. The podcast will also feature these other segments: Tuesday Focus: Nationally recognized professional phy...
Jan 14, 2020•32 min•Ep. 398
In the true holiday spirit of giving, during this edition of Talk Ten Tuesdays weekly broadcast will provide you and your team with some free advice on how to avoid claim denials – especially if you don’t have a robust claim denials management process. Unfortunately, the majority of healthcare organizations encounter claim denials on a regular basis, often habitually. Though some claim denials may be unavoidable, ineffective claim denials management can result in even more lost revenue, as you’l...
Dec 10, 2019•31 min•Ep. 397
There was a time when the coin of the realm in the world of coding was knowledge of complications or comorbidities (CCs) and major complications or comorbidities (MCCs). But 10 years later, the industry has changed rapidly, and to avoid going the way of the dinosaur, coders today need to embrace all patients’ refined diagnosis-related groups (APR-DRGs) and hierarchical condition categories (HCCs). A coder’s staying power lies beyond MS-DRGs, according to Kristi Pollard, who reports our lead stor...
Dec 03, 2019•29 min•Ep. 396
As we conclude our month-long Talk Ten Tuesdays series, “Ten Going on Eleven,” we do so with a special appearance by Valerie Watzlaf, board president and chair of the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA). Valerie, vice chair of education and associate professor within the Department of Health Information Management in the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh, will discuss how AHIMA is helping the health information management (HIM) pr...
Nov 26, 2019•29 min•Ep. 395
Exclusive reporting on ICD-11 and the need for early preparation for the new code set continues at ICD10monitor and Talk Ten Tuesdays. Among those skills that will need to be honed is hierarchical classification category (HCC) coding. HCCs thrive on specificity. Although it was thought that ICD-10 delivered the ultimate level of specificity, ICD-11 is expected to surpass ICD-10 in that area. But HCCs require documentation, and the key looming question remains, at this time, unanswered: will the ...
Nov 19, 2019•30 min•Ep. 394
Data mining is the next frontier in healthcare – and it’s here. The creation of revenue management and data management educational tracks in health information technology (HIT) associate degree programs, plus the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to assign ICD-11 codes, means that data mining skills are a must-have for coding specialists, requiring extensive education. To help assist this major educational initiative, ICD10monitor and Talk Ten Tuesdays are producing a series of articles and br...
Nov 12, 2019•30 min•Ep. 393
ICD-11 is on track to arrive here in the U.S. sooner than most expected – 2022. In fact, global experts convened in Switzerland to create a roadmap to advance the digital health ecosystem. For the very latest update on ICD-11, the World Health Organization’s (WHO’s) Robert Jakob, MD, team leader of classifications and terminologies (ICD, ICF, ICHI), is today's Talk Ten Tuesdays special guest. Also joining the broadcast is Margaret Skurka, who has just returned from the WHO Family of Internationa...
Nov 05, 2019•30 min•Ep. 392
“In the hospital setting, we see multiple insurance denials on a weekly basis,” Lamon Willis recently wrote in an article for ICD10monitor. “Teams of people route them to various departments for analysis and review. I have staff members who review the APC and/or DRG, along with coding criteria, to determine if we have properly fulfilled our duties as coders and to support the appeals process for the organization,” he continued. “My staff and I agree on one thing at the very beginning, and that i...
Oct 29, 2019•32 min•Ep. 391
Five Looking at Ten, the month-long series on ICD10monitor and Talk Ten Tuesdays that examines lessons learned since the nation’s healthcare system adopted ICD-10, will continue with a special guest appearance of Robert Tennant of the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA). The broadcast also feature these other segments: Five Looking at Ten: Clinical Audits: Nationally recognized health information management (HIM) authority Gloryanne Bryant reports on lessons learned from clinical coding ...
Oct 22, 2019•30 min•Ep. 389
There is ongoing concern that electronic health record (EHR) systems are one of the top contributing causes to patient deaths, complications, and erroneous care plans. During this edition of Talk Ten Tuesdays, nationally recognized professional physician coder and auditor Terry Fletcher, a member of the ICD10monitor editorial board, reports on the growing issue of EHR-related errors. The live broadcast will also feature these other segments: The Coding Report: Laurie Johnson, senior healthcare c...
Oct 15, 2019•31 min•Ep. 389
There’s growing concern in the healthcare industry regarding offshore and untrained staff getting their CPT® and ICD-10 codes from non-verified Internet sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and other social media platforms. This practice aligns with another troubling trend: the use of Google by folks leveraging the Internet for self-diagnosis, doing so with a misdirected sense of trust in all things online while hoping to reach their own conclusions about their illness. During this edition of Talk T...
Oct 08, 2019•29 min
Five Looking at Ten is an upcoming month-long series on ICD10monitor and Talk Ten Tuesdays, through which we will examine what lessons have been learned since the nation’s healthcare system adopted ICD-10, which became effective Oct. 1, 2014. Each week, we will report on lessons learned as we approach year five – while at the same time, looking ahead to the implementation of ICD-11. Joining us during this broadcast is our special guest is Denise Buenning, who, during the run-up to ICD-10, was th...
Oct 01, 2019•30 min•Ep. 387
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has published rules and guidance on the topic of a "completed medical record." But what if the provider didn't sign off on the note or authenticate it in the electronic health record (EHR) until after the fact? Is the record still considered complete, for billing and reporting purposes? During this edition of Talk Ten Tuesdays, nationally recognized professional physician coder and auditor Terry Fletcher reports on the need for complete medi...
Sep 24, 2019•31 min•Ep. 286
What new codes are coming your way? The ICD-10 Coordination and Maintenance Committee (C&M) met for two days this past week to discuss requests for ICD-10 code changes. Laurie Johnson, an ICD10monitor editorial member and senior healthcare consultant for Revenue Cycle Solutions, LLC, reports on the public forum held Monday and Tuesday at the headquarters of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). This episode also features these other segments: Tuesday Focus: Addicted Nation—...
Sep 17, 2019•30 min
Is your facility currently providing smoking cessation counseling and treatment? Did you know you can bill and get reimbursed for your services? It isn't just part of your standard evaluation and management (E&M) encounter. But who is covered? What are the CPT® and ICD-10-CM codes? What is the reimbursement and rules for payment? Nationally recognized professional physician coder and auditor Terry Fletcher reports on the latest information about revenue opportunities for all specialty provid...
Sep 10, 2019•30 min•Ep. 384
There are rules to follow when you are using "time" as your element of support for any evaluation and management (E&M) encounter. If a physician elects to report the level of care based on counseling and/or coordination of care, then a number of factors must be in the patient's medical record. During this edition of Talk Ten Tuesdays, nationally recognized professional physician coder and auditor Terry Fletcher discusses the American Medical Association’s (AMA’s) rules, the position taken by...
Aug 27, 2019•29 min•Ep. 383
Gender dysphoria is quickly moving into America’s healthcare lexicon as LGBTQ+ families are rising in number at historic rates, prompting the emergence of alternative medical clinics that are providing services for the transgender patient community. As a result, coders have questions – specifically, about ICD-10-CM diagnosis codes. During this edition of Talk Ten Tuesdays, nationally recognized professional physician coder and auditor Terry Fletcher explains what codes to choose, how to understa...
Aug 20, 2019•30 min•Ep. 381
So how do you as a coding professional ensure your physician queries are effective and compliant? First, it’s important to understand when to query a physician, how to submit a query and the best way to get a reply from your provider. During the next edition of Talk Ten Tuesdays, nationally recognized professional physician coder and auditor Terry Fletcher will provide insight into this important and powerful communication tool. The live broadcast will also feature these other segments: The Codi...
Aug 13, 2019•29 min
As reported by ICD10monitor, the World Health Organization (WHO) has classified physician burnout as an occupational phenomenon, while noting that it is not a medical diagnosis. There are some estimates that more than half of physicians have experienced burnout. But what do coders and clinical documentation integrity specialists (CDISs) need to know about burnout among their physicians? Reporting our lead story during this edition of Talk Ten Tuesdays will be Megan Cortazzo, MD, Medical Director...
Aug 06, 2019•28 min•Ep. 380
Has the art of telling the patient’s story through coding been lost? So ponders Kristi Pollard, a senior coding consultant for the Haugen Group, who reports this intriguing story in this edition of Talk Ten Tuesdays. Pollard is expected to explain that, first and foremost, coders are storytellers who convey each patient’s medical story through codes. The podcast also features these other segments: The Coding Report: Laurie Johnson, a senior healthcare consultant at Revenue Cycle Solutions, LLC, ...
Jul 30, 2019•29 min•Ep. 378
What may seem relatively straightforward to some coders has been a headache, presenting confusion and ambiguity, for others, when it comes to charging for critical care services. During this edition of Talk Ten Tuesdays, nationally recognized professional physician coder and auditor Terry Fletcher will focus not only on coding but also documentation compliance when reporting such services. The broadcast also features these other segments: The Revenue Cycle Report: Bonnie S. Cassidy, nationally r...
Jul 23, 2019•30 min•Ep. 377
The ICD-10-CM/PCS update to the American Hospital Association’s (AHA’s) Coding Clinic for the second quarter of 2019 has been published, and there is plenty of news to report. Each quarter, new advice and guidance are published by the AHA to address questions and challenges associated with clinical coding. The AHA Coding Clinic on ICD-10-CM/PCS is an “official” coding resource, and as such, it is recognized by regulators and auditors alike. Reporting our lead story during thisTalk Ten Tuesdays i...
Jul 16, 2019•29 min•Ep. 377
During the sultry summer of 2018, a Talk Ten Tuesday listener asked if whether seasoned coding professionals were sufficiently trained and competent to interpret clinical terms and concepts from medical records. So the editorial team here at ICD10monitor published a story on the topic on July 17, 2018. Debra Beisel Benton, who at the time was working at Maricopa Integrated Health System as the HIM System Coding Educator, wrote the story. The topic solicited many comments, creating a contentious ...
Jul 09, 2019•30 min
The dangers of cloned documentation can damage the perceived trustworthiness and integrity of the medical record for patient care. The current use of copy-and-paste functions in electronic medical record/health record (EMR/EHR) systems is a growing area of focus for government auditors. In fact, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) has weighed in on this topic, as well as The Joint Commission and several of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid...
Jul 02, 2019•31 min
There are a plethora of ICD-10 codes for sleep disorders – as many codes for these diagnoses as sheep jumping over a fence. And with the approach of summer, there is the concordant expectation of summer insomnia. “Sleep is not just a pillar of health, it is the foundation to health,” writes Nick van Terheyden, aka “Dr. Nick the Incrementalist,” founder of Incremental Healthcare, who reports our lead story. Dr. Nick discusses the importance of sleep, which he describes as offering “the incredible...
Jun 25, 2019•30 min
The grades for America’s healthcare system are out, and the results are dismal, according to The Commonwealth Fund’s 2019 Scorecard on State Health System Performance, released Wednesday. The Scorecard, according to The Commonwealth Fund, reveals that most states are losing ground on key measures related to life expectancy as premature deaths from suicide, alcohol, and drug overdose continue to increase. Among other findings, the Scorecard found that healthcare costs are placing an increasing fi...
Jun 18, 2019•29 min•Ep. 373
Along with one of the most common blood-thinning medications in the world, taken daily to prevent blood clots, comes frequent checks called “pro-times” or international normalized ratio (INR) monitoring. This has been taken for granted in the past, as the work involved for the physician to monitor such patients at least monthly (and sometimes more often) can be costly for a medical practice. However, in 2018, as Medicare continues to reinforce support for primary care and certain medical special...
Jun 11, 2019•28 min
The cascading implications of inaccurate ICD-10 coding are explored during this edition of Talk Ten Tuesdays. We are revisiting this timely and important subject, featured during the May 21 edition of the broadcast. Guest co-host Holly Louie returns to continue her reporting on how coding inaccuracies impact compliance and payment issues. The live broadcast will also feature these other segments: Tuesday Focus: The trend of mobile monitoring and moving the intensive care monitoring unit out into...
Jun 04, 2019•29 min
Central Learning is a web-based coding assessment and education application. Since 2016, the company has conducted an annual national coding review to measure ICD-10 coding accuracy and production. The initial intent was to evaluate how coding accuracy and production fared using ICD-10, as compared to ICD-9. The common industry accuracy benchmark under ICD-9 was 95 percent. The findings in 2018 indicated that the industry at large still lags far behind past expectations. In addition, as producti...
May 21, 2019•31 min•Ep. 370
