As the current flu season worsens, accurate vaccine coding is necessary for effective medical billing and accounting of services provided. Since influenza is constantly developing new viral strains, constant development of updated flu vaccines is vital. To keep up...
Value-Based Reimbursement Model Highly Beneficial For Primary Care
Primary care compensation has improved substantially, a consequence of physician and hospital reimbursement moving to value-based models based on quality and outcomes, from the earlier fee-for-service model. Healthcare staffing is also witnessing a new trend, with...
CMS Announces 1-year Grace Period for ICD-10 Transition
In a surprise concession, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recently announced several changes to the plan for ICD-10 implementation in the United States. The new changes can be viewed as a joint initiative between the CMS and the American Medical...
Mammograms May Lead to Over diagnosis of Breast Cancer – Finds Study
Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death among American women. Reports from the American Cancer Society (ACS) (2015 statistics),point out that about 231,840 new cases of breast cancer will be diagnosed in women and about 40,290 women will die from...
Coding for Kidney Transplantation – An Overview
Kidney transplantation is an effective treatment for people with kidney disease, especially end-stage renal disease (ESRD) that occurs when the kidneys do not function any more at a level that is necessary for day-to-day activities. This treatment involves removing a...
HHS Releases New Rules for Meaningful Use Stage 3 of the Incentive Program
The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) recently announced the release of the proposed rules for "Stage 3 of the Meaningful Use...
No Cardiac Stress Tests for Low Risk Adults – ACP Advises
In their new guidelines, the American College of Physicians (ACP) advises that adults who are at lower risk for heart disease need not undergo screening tests such as EKGs and other cardiac stress tests. Cardiac screening tests help physicians identify whether their...
Indian Hospitals Providing Quality Health Care at a Fraction of U.S. Prices
It has been established beyond doubt that the health care in the U.S. is the most expensive in the world at 8.508 per capita. Implementing the Affordable Care Act will be meaningless unless the U.S. finds ways to reduce overwhelming health care costs without...
ACP Releases Wiser Cancer Screening Techniques
Regular screening increases the chances of detecting certain cancers early, when they are most likely to be curable. However, screening strategies vary in intensity and value. Many people have a lack of understanding about the trade-offs of screening. Studies report...
Medical Coding for Burns in the Emergency Department
It is very important to remain very cautious when coding for burns in an emergency setting. This is mainly because the medical coding rules and regulations for burn care are complex, are subject to change often and errors can cause big revenue loss to your practice....