January 2018

Are You Moving the CDI Needle?

Three questions to consider when evaluating a clinical documentation improvement program. By Lisa A. Eramo, MA for For the Record Review the record. Query the physician. Obtain the diagnosis. Repeat. Does this clinical documentation improvement (CDI) workflow sound familiar? Productivity is the hallmark of a good program. Or is it? On the surface, CDI specialists…

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7 statistics on medical coder salary, growth potential

By Laura Dyrda for Becker’s ASC Review Professional coders are more likely to see compensation increases when they achieve higher credentials, and the percent increase in year-over-year compensation is higher for the most-credentialed individuals, according to the AAPC 2016 Salary Survey. The survey was completed by 9.2 percent of AAPC membership, and 2.2 percent hold…

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Natural language processing tools take aim at value-based care through risk-sharing programs

By Bill Siwicki for Healthcare Finance News Natural language processing technology is being integrated with electronic health records and finding its way into the big data and analytics realms, often focusing on enhancing provider workflow and clinical documentation. And for the last few years, tech vendors including 3M, Apixio, Dolbey Systems, Health Fidelity, Linguamatics and…

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Medical note system could boost patient engagement, reduce documentation time

New research finds patients could benefit if they are invited to co-produce medical notes with doctors rather than simply reading them. By Jeff Lagasse for Healthcare IT News Encouraging patients to help write and add notes to their personal medical charts — a task typically handled only by medical professionals — may help patients feel…

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Here are the 12 healthcare issues that will define 2018, according to PwC

Artificial intelligence, IoT, cybersecurity, disaster preparedness and the patient experience are some of the prime concerns, according to the PwC Health Research Institute. By Bill Siwicki for Healthcare IT News The continued uncertainty and risk the healthcare industry will face in 2018 will motivate healthcare organizations to boost their efficiency across functions, according to the…

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The Life of a Chart

By Angie Dibble, RHIT for For the Record Remember when we thought of medical charts as inanimate objects, safely tucked away on a dusty shelf in a paper mill known as “Medical Records”? In my prior life, the one I innocently enjoyed before working in health information, I believed all medical charts were somehow pure…

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Surgeon admits marking his initials on the livers of two patients

Simon Bramhall pleads guilty to two counts of assault after using argon gas to sign ‘SB’ on patients’ organs By Frances Perraudin for The Guardian A surgeon has pleaded guilty to marking his initials on the livers of two patients while performing transplant surgery. In a hearing at Birmingham crown court on Wednesday, Simon Bramhall…

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