With the increased number of Monkeypox in our communities, it’s important to understand the virus clinically and the ICD-10-CM coding of this disease. Monkeypox cases in the United States as of 9/30/2022 were 26,049 cases and two deaths according to the CDC. Over this past summer (July), the Director General of the World Health Organization, “WHO,” declared the outbreak...
Cigarette Smoking and Cancer in the U.S.
Cigarette smoking in the United States has been prevalent since the early 1900s, with approximately 3.5 billion cigarettes being sold. In 1965, congress passed legislation to place the surgeon general warning on every box of cigarettes sold in the United States. Prior to this, many Americans were not well informed or educated about the effects of cigarette smoke or even...
Monkeypox New Lab Test and Vaccine Codes Released by AMA
Monkeypox is a rare virus that has been increasing in frequency over the past 3-4 months here in the United States. Vaccinating against Monkeypox is a recommended medical practice. Having the associated laboratory test code and vaccine product code(s) to capture this service and data is important to have in place for use across healthcare settings. Monkeypox is a rare...
OIG HHS Semiannual Report to Congress is Released
The Fall 2021 Office of Inspector General (OIG) Health and Human Services Semiannual Report to Congress describes work identifying significant risks, problems, abuses, deficiencies, remedies, and investigative outcomes relating to the administration of HHS programs and operations that were from the reporting period of April 1, 2021, through September 30, 2021. The HHS...
Latest and Greatest 2022 COVID-19 Code Updates
On December 8, 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared, “… December 7, 1941 – a day that will live in infamy….” when the USA was suddenly attacked by Japan. Many died from the attack itself and the ensuing world war into which America was thrust. On March 11, 2020, WHO declared COVID-19 a global pandemic (an infectious disease that has spread, in this case,...
Colorectal Cancer Awareness
More than 140,000 people are diagnosed with colorectal cancer every year, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). More than 50,000 die from the disease annually. What’s worse is that colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States. More than 90% of colorectal cancers occur in individuals over the age of 50. ...
