We don’t live in a bubble. We are a globalized economy. Until artificial intelligence has total capability in healthcare, the human touch is what sets us apart from just carrying out a set of functions efficiently. Since the COVID-19 pandemic landed, it has had an unprecedented impact on most countries, and an already taxed U.S. health system regarding mental health and...

Finding purpose through meaningful work has been on the minds of many lately. Purpose, essential to organizational development and the lifeblood of the human heart as it relates to the whole organizational body system, is what makes life meaningful. Often, health care workers enter the health care field because they love to help people and contribute to enhancing a...

When the final rule for the FY2022 Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) came out, it included the statement that we will now have clinical coding updates twice a year for ICD-10-CM and ICD-10-PCS, once in April and the usual large update in October. Keeping with their statement, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that three (3) new...

According to a Pew Research Center analysis, retirement looms for 3.5 million retirees over the next year, including the most recent labor force data.1 Many organizations face this worrisome predicament, yet many health information management departments struggle with being proactive in their planning efforts. This week's blog post asked three healthcare industry leaders...

Several important updates and additions were made to the ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines for Coding and Reporting for fiscal year 2022. Although key changes will be highlighted in this article, be sure to review the new and revised guidance in its entirety to ensure proper diagnosis coding and reporting. Additionally, visit our blogs about 9 Tips to Calm Coder Anxiety, ...

Metrics represent values to measure an organization’s strategy. Leaders should understand that metrics cannot replace strategy. It can lead to behaviors that undermine the very strategy the metrics expect to measure, resulting in negative consequences for all. Remember the severe negative repercussions the banking giant, Wells Fargo experienced when it aggressively pushed...

Summary   As the world of healthcare becomes more complex, healthcare executives are searching for ways to curb costs quickly and substantially while remaining competitive and profitable. Outsourcing is one way to reduce inefficiencies and eliminate redundancy. Let's explore some of the pain points health systems and hospitals face along with the pros and cons of using...

MTHFR. Sounds almost rude, doesn’t it? However, it is NOT something for which your mother would threaten to wash your mouth out with soap, I promise. MTHFR stands for methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase – so obviously, using the abbreviation is easier than saying that mouthful every time. What, exactly, IS MTHFR? It’s a genetic mutation affecting approximately 30% of the...

Social Determinants of Health: Everyone's Challenge and Benefit Concurrent with a refined focus on Social Determinants of Health, the benefit of using electronic health records for managing the health of populations as well as individuals has garnered attention. With the implementation of provisions of the ONC’s Cures Act Final Rule, patients, providers, health systems,...

Do you have trouble with IR coding? It can be difficult to determine code selection but understanding the rules can go a long way to understanding how CPT code assignment works. It’s all about the position of the catheter and the hierarchy of the codes. In a non-selective catheter placement, the catheter stays in the original vessel that was punctured or advances only to...