by Mary Beth York, CCS, CCS-P Senior Associate at Barry Libman Inc. and Libman Education The CCS exam tests your acute hospital inpatient and outpatient coding skills at a mastery level. It is recommended (but not mandated) that you have at least three years actual hospital inpatient and surgical outpatient coding experience. The successful candidate […]
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Libman Education is proud to offer ZHealth Publishing’s broad range of coding products to assist both the novice and the seasoned coder to become experts at coding and charging for complex procedures in Interventional Radiology, Interventional Cardiology, Vascular/Endovascular Surgery, and Diagnostic Radiology. Periodically, ZHealth Publishing experts offer general recommendations in response to specific customer inquiries. […]
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by Anthony Rino MT(ASCP), MHA I have the privilege of running a mid-sized company that employs roughly 200 people. One of the best parts of my job is talking with employees. Many have shared their stories with me about their kids, their hobbies, military service, the different languages they speak, desires to travel, to buy […]
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Did you ever stop to wonder about the difference between uncertain behavior and unspecified behavior in the neoplasm table? The answer is in the guidelines. Under the Neoplasm General Guidelines, it states …
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by Rebecca Harmon, MPM, RHIA, CCA Over the past year, I welcomed several new Coders into our Medical Center’s HIM department. The last few hired were brand new graduates from a local coding training program. As new (really new!) coders, I thought that they might have some good insights into landing that first Coding job, […]
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by Rose T. Dunn, MBA, RHIA, CPA, FACHE Hierarchical condition category (HCC) audits can encompass a variety of topics such as incorrect coding, overcoding, and even billing issues such as excessive denials for one thing or another or duplicate claims. If you are like many healthcare organizations, you are getting slammed with denials for everything […]
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by Lynn Kuehn, MS, RHIA, CCS-P, FAHIMA Is an orbital atherectomy the same as a rotational atherectomy? This question came to me earlier this week and has required some research. And, the answer is: They are not the same. Let’s look at the orbital atherectomy first. Orbital atherectomy is performed on calcified plaque lesions using […]
read more »by Rebecca Harmon, MPM, RHIA, CCA Over the years I’ve learned a thing or two about being a good employee, and being a not-so-good one. I’ve spent my fair share of time as the office rock star but would be lying if I didn’t also report that I’ve spent time as an employee the boss […]
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CDIS are key team members of any hospital’s revenue cycle operation. CDIS ensure that the provider’s documentation captures all clinical information completely and accurately. The documentation must then be translated into codes in accordance with the conventions of the classification and the Official Guidelines for Coding and Reporting, in order to be processed for data and billing purposes.
read more »by Rose T. Dunn, MBA, RHIA, CPA, FACHE Coding professionals may code conditions that are addressed by an acceptable provider and found in the History of Present Illness (HPI), Physician Examination (PE), Assessment, Impression, and/or Plan. However, “MEAT” will continue to apply to these conditions. That is, the condition must be: “Measured or Monitored,” “Evaluated,” […]
read more »by Lynn Kuehn, MS, RHIA, CCS-P, FAHIMA The goal of the Ex Utero Intrapartum Treatment (EXIT) procedure is to gain access to a compromised neonatal airway before complete delivery takes place. The EXIT procedure involves both patients, Mom and Neonate, and uses a team of professionals managing each patient, with the teams being totally synchronized […]
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by Laurie M. Johnson, MS, RHIA, FAHIMA What is the mid-revenue cycle? The middle of the revenue cycle consists of four key components: clinical documentation, case management, charge processing including the charge description master, and coding. Clinical documentation is capturing the accurate picture of the patient’s presentation and care to the healthcare organization whether it […]
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Here are five strategies I used recently to pass the CCS on the first go-round.
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by Angela Lehoux, BS, CDIP, CCS, CIC, CPC-I Recently I drove by a vacant lot on my street that had been empty for a very long time. When I drove by this time, I noticed something different. There was a foundation poured. I know that this means there will soon be a house there. The […]
read more »by Anthony Rino MT(ASCP), MHA “Estamos bien en el refugio, los 33.” “We are fine in the shelter, the 33 of us.” That was the message rescuers received from thirty-three Chilean miners trapped after a major mine collapse. On August 5, 2010, 700,000 tons of some of the hardest rock in the world caved in […]
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Comprehensive knowledge of Anatomy and Physiology are foundational to the work of coding. Reading documentation and then translating it into accurate and complete coding requires detailed understanding of the body and how it works. Just in case you are wondering: “Do I have the in-depth knowledge of A&P I need to be a top-notch coder?” […]
read more »by Lynn Kuehn, MS, RHIA, CCS-P, FAHIMA First things first. A bifurcation is like a fork in the road. Webster says that a bifurcation is “the point or area at which something divides into two branches or parts or the point at which bifurcating occurs.” Here are two examples as shown in the drawings. Bifurcated […]
read more »Libman Education is proud to offer ZHealth Publishing’s broad range of coding products to assist both the novice and the seasoned coder to become experts at coding and charging for complex procedures in Interventional Radiology, Interventional Cardiology, Vascular/Endovascular Surgery, and Diagnostic Radiology. Periodically, ZHealth Publishing experts offer general recommendations in response to specific customer inquiries. […]
read more »by Rebecca Harmon, MPM, RHIA, CCA As an educator in both community college and university settings, I had the great privilege of being around students as they prepared to enter the workforce. Some were just emerging from college as fresh-faced new graduates while others were finding a new lease on life with a change in […]
read more »by Rose T. Dunn, MBA, RHIA, CPA, FACHE Why are physician practices reluctant to code all conditions? I still see physician offices submitting claims with only four diagnoses (sometimes fewer). The limitation of linking four conditions to a test or service has been interpreted by some providers as a limit on the number of diagnoses […]
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