BC Advantage Magazine, the highly acclaimed CEU approved national online healthcare publication, has published an article by Outsource Strategies International (OSI) titled “Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: Addressing Challenges of Diagnosis and Clinical Management”. The article appears in the Sept / Oct 2020 | Issue 15.5 of this reputable online medical billing and coding resource.
Written by Meghann Drella, CPC, a Senior Solutions Manager at Managed Outsource Solutions (MOS) and an AAPC-certified coding professional on OSI’s expert team, the article provides comprehensive information of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) and the challenges of diagnosing and managing the condition. SLE is an autoimmune rheumatic disorder. The publication of this article in the September issue of the magazine is timely since September is Rheumatic Diseases Awareness Month.
The article discusses the four main types of lupus – SLE, cutaneous lupus, drug-induced lupus and neonatal lupus. According to the Lupus Foundation of America, about 1.5 million Americans have some form of lupus. In this autoimmune rheumatic disorder, the immune system mistakenly attacks healthy cells in the body, causing pain and severe tissue damage involving multiple organ systems, such as joints, skin, lungs, kidneys, nervous system, blood vessels, and many other organs.
Recognizing the symptoms of SLE and treating it as early as possible could make treatment effective. However, as the article points out, diagnosing SLE poses challenges since lupus has symptoms that are also found in many other conditions.
In addition to the importance of early diagnosis of SLE the article reports on the ICD-10 codes to report the condition. There are different ICD-10 codes to report systemic lupus Erythematosus and using the correct codes while establishing medical necessity is crucial for physicians to get paid. Documenting the patient’s signs and symptoms clearly and correctly is necessary to ensure coding to the highest level of certainty.
BC Advantage Magazine is the largest independent resource provider in the industry for medical coders and billers, healthcare auditors, practice managers, compliance officers, and clinical documentation experts. The Sept / Oct 2020 issue of BC Advantage Magazine also features another article by OSI titled “September is Rheumatic Disease Awareness Month.”, which was also featured in this editions cover page.
OSI is a healthcare business process outsourcing company based in the U.S, that provides end-to-end medical billing and coding services for medical practices, dental practices, dentists and physicians and also specializes in insurance verifications and authorizations. Established in 2002, OSI’s team of skilled AAPC-certified coders have a strong understanding of ICD-10-CM and CPT requirements and procedures, and stays up-to-date with coding changes, payer-specific documentation requirements, and state and federal regulations.
Other OSI articles published by BC Advantage Magazine are: “Gastroparesis Awareness Month in August.”, “Key Strategies for Clinical Documentation Improvement in 2020.”, “Pharmacy Prior Authorization – Challenges and Solutions”, “Tick and Lyme Disease Diagnosis and Treatment”, “Viral Hepatitis – Types, Symptoms, and Diagnosis Codes” and “How to Code Screening and Diagnostic Colonoscopy”. Two OSI reports, “Thanksgiving-Specific Foodborne Illnesses – Types, Symptoms, and ICD-10 Codes” and “ICD 10 Codes for some of the Worst Epidemics in the U.S”, were also featured in the magazine’s online medical coding article section.
Meghann Drella possesses a profound understanding of ICD-10-CM and CPT requirements and procedures, actively participating in continuing education to stay abreast of any industry changes.