There’s an old saying about “writing what you know.” Keeping that in mind, I’ve decided to write a series of blogs about diabetes mellitus (DM) since I have Type 2 DM. Actually, I suspect I really have Type 1.5, AKA LADA. You may not even know the terms Type 1.5 or LADA, as presently, there is no official recognition or code number for Type 1.5. However, before we can...

Quality studies and improvements have much more value than merely meeting a cancer program standards requirement. If planned well and properly conducted, quality studies can energize the members of the team, reduce inefficiencies, increase cost effectiveness, and deliver value to the organization and patients it serves.   Read Part 1 of this article series HERE.  The...

And What the Future Might Hold By Stephanie Kovalick  For years, healthcare industry pundits have been predicting that we’re on the verge of a tipping point in value-based payment (VBP) and/or care. In a 2016 survey of 115 payers by ORC International and commissioned by McKesson, respondents predicted that VBP—such as pay-for-performance, global payment or capitation,...

If you have not heard yet, National Cancer Registrar’s Week (NCRW) is happening this week, April 5-9, 2021. We encourage you to join us by reaching out to your Cancer Registrar(s) to learn more about the work they do and to thank them for their service. This year’s theme, Cancer Registrars: The Driving Force of Cancer Data, underscores the role registrars expertly fill in...

Vaginal deliveries are the most common type of obstetric delivery, but there can be great variety among the diagnoses and procedures involved with these deliveries. Being familiar with pertinent ICD-10-CM and ICD-10-PCS coding guidelines and knowing a little about what the ICD-10-PCS character values for these codes represent will go a long way in helping you make...

There is a Japanese proverb that says, “Vision without action is a daydream. Action without vision is a nightmare.” When cancer programs start establishing the quality initiative activities each year, they should set aside time to plan and explore proposed topics before launching into analysis or implementing solutions. Failure to take plan or methodically conduct a study...

It is widely acknowledged that interventional radiology is one of the most complex medical coding specialties to master. There are many reasons why interventional radiology coding is so very challenging, but one of the main reasons is that many codes may be required to accurately capture all of the steps of a vascular procedure. To achieve success with interventional...

When coding angiography procedures in ICD-10-PCS, a number of variables can make it challenging to get the coding right. For instance, knowing what value a particular type of contrast maps to is necessary to assign codes accurately. To help you make correct character selections when coding angiography the information that follows provides a high level review of each...

Elective surgeries were largely postponed or stopped entirely as the COVID-19 pandemic bore down on us. But as incidence and infection rates begin to taper off, the focus in many hospitals and surgery centers is turning to how they will “ramp up” to prepare for elective surgeries again. Understanding the current protocols, e.g., beds, testing, operating rooms (ORs) and...

More than 600,000 people in the United States died from cancer in 2020 according to the American Cancer Society.   The National Cancer Institute (NCI) reported that an additional 10,000 deaths will occur in the next date due to pandemic-related delays in screening and treatment in patients diagnosed with breast and colorectal cancers. Given this we can ascertain that the...