May 2016

Hospital Pays $2.2 Million HIPAA Penalty for Reality Show Participation

Article by Mary Butler. This article was originally published on the Journal of AHIMA website on May 18, 2016 and is republished here with permission. New York Presbyterian Hospital was slapped with a $2.2 million fine for allowing a network reality show film the death of a trauma patient without seeking permission from the patient’s family. The…

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Healthcare CEO Faces Life in Prison for Fraud That Led to 2 Patient Deaths

By Ayla Ellison for Becker’s Hospital Review The CEO and co-owner of a Maryland diagnostics company is facing life in prison after a federal jury convicted him of two counts of healthcare fraud that resulted in death, according to the Department of Justice. On Wednesday, a federal jury found 67-year-old Rafael Chikvashvili, PhD, guilty of healthcare…

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Whistle-Blower Claims 33 Hospitals Submitted More Than $1B in Fictitious Costs

By Ayla Ellison for Becker’s Hospital Review A whistle-blower recently defended the viability of a federal complaint he filed, saying 33 hospitals in North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia benefited from fictitious cost report claims submitted to Medicare and Medicaid. The whistle-blower, Joseph Vincoli, first brought suit against Charlotte, N.C.-based Carolinas HealthCare System and North Carolina…

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Grappling With the End of Physician ICD-10 Coding Grace Period

Article by Mary Butler. This article was originally published on the Journal of AHIMA website on May 19, 2016 and is republished here with permission. October 1, 2016, will mark the end of a one-year “grace period” that allowed unspecified ICD-10-CM codes on certain physician Medicare claims. The grace period was a joint initiative between the Centers…

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Highmark to Pay More for Better Diagnostic Documentation

By Joseph Goedert for Health Data Management Highmark Inc., a Blues plan serving Pennsylvania, Delaware and West Virginia, is giving physicians a financial incentive to increase documentation of diagnostic codes in the electronic health record of patients insured under Medicare Advantage or health insurance exchange programs. Too often, physicians enter a core diagnosis following a…

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Revealed: Google AI Has Access to Huge Haul of NHS Patient Data

By Hal Hodson for New Scientist It’s no secret that Google has broad ambitions in healthcare. But a document obtained by New Scientist reveals that the tech giant’s collaboration with the UK’s National Health Service goes far beyond what has been publicly announced. The document – a data-sharing agreement between Google-owned artificial intelligence company DeepMind and…

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HHS Awards $260 Million to Health Centers Nationwide

By HMT Mag for Health Management Technology HHS Secretary Sylvia M. Burwell announced over $260 million in funding to 290 health centers in 45 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico for facility renovation, expansion, or construction. Health centers will use this funding to increase their patient capacity and to provide additional comprehensive primary…

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3rd Biggest Killer in US Is Medical Error – Johns Hopkins Study

By Staff for RT Research has discovered that medical error is the third leading cause of death in the United States. With more than 250,000 deaths of this kind annually, researchers from Johns Hopkins University urge addressing systemic problems with the US system. There have been other estimates, including one by the Centers for Disease Control…

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100 Great Hospitals in America | 2016

By Staff for Becker’s Hospital Review Becker’s Hospital Review is pleased to release the 2016 edition of its list of 100 Great Hospitals in America. The hospitals on this list are well-known for a multitude of reasons, such as having a strong history of innovation, providing top-notch care to patients, leading clinical advancement with forward-thinking research…

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Physician Advisors

By Dr. Jon Elion for ChartWise Medical Systems, Inc. The Clinical Documentation Specialist (CDS) looked a little tentative stepping up to the microphone to ask her question. I had just finished a talk where I shared stories about Clinical Documentation Improvement (CDI) from the point of view of a practicing physician. As her question unfolded, the…

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