October 2020

Some hospitals in crisis as U.S. nears high for COVID-19 cases

From Modern Healthcare BOISE, Idaho (AP) — The United States is approaching a record for the number of new daily coronavirus cases in the latest ominous sign about the disease’s grip on the nation, as states from Connecticut to Idaho reel under the surge. The impact is being felt in every section of the country — a lockdown starting…

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Compensation for physician practice billers & coders — 9 survey insights

By Angie Stewart for Becker’s Hospital Review Nearly one-third of full-time billers and coders at physician practices make between $40,001 and $50,000 a year in direct monetary compensation, according to Physician’s Practice’s “2020 Staff Salary Survey.” The survey’s 295 respondents specified how much the average non-physician provider earns annually: Note: Percentages do not add up…

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Major hospital system hit with cyberattack, potentially largest in U.S. history

By Kevin Collier for NBC News A major hospital chain has been hit by what appears to be one of the largest medical cyberattacks in United States history. Computer systems for Universal Health Services, which has more than 400 locations, primarily in the U.S., began to fail over the weekend, and some hospitals have had…

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Top 10 innovation priorities for health systems in response to COVID-19, says report

By Jackie Drees for Becker’s Hospital Review The COVID-19 pandemic has pushed telehealth and remote work capabilities to the forefront of health systems’ agendas, according to KLAS Research. For its Top of Mind for Top Health Systems 2021: Digital health priorities in the era of COVID-19 report, KLAS Research partnered with Pittsburgh-based Center for Connected…

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AMA Announces New CPT Codes for Multivirus Tests to Detect COVID-19 and Flu

From For the Record The American Medical Association (AMA) recently published an update to the Current Procedural Terminology (CPT®) code set that includes new code additions and editorial revisions for reporting medical services sparked by the public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The update to the CPT code set was approved by the CPT…

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6 recent studies exploring AI in healthcare

Katie Adams for Becker’s Hospital Review In the past decade or so, researchers have piloted more and more studies exploring artificial intelligence’s potential to transform healthcare for the better, including reducing workflow inefficiencies, predicting future health outcomes and speeding up diagnoses. Here are six key AI studies that have been published recently: “Whose morality? Which…

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7 key uncertainties surrounding the COVID-19 vaccine race

By Katie Adams for Becker’s Hospital Review The race to develop a COVID-19 vaccine will most likely bring about the most rapidly developed vaccine in history, but uncertainties still abound when it comes to a potential vaccine’s effectiveness, safety and ability to be administered to the world’s population. STAT compiled a list of seven key quandaries that scientists,…

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6 must-know coding updates in 2020

Angie Stewart for Becker’s Hospital Review Becker’s ASC Review compiled a timeline of significant medical coding updates that have been proposed or implemented so far this year: January  CMS began paying for certain angioplasty and stenting procedures in ASCs on Jan. 1, under its 2020 Medicare Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System and ASC Payment System Final Rule. Here…

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HIM Homebodies — Ignited by COVID-19, More Operations Go Remote

By Lisa A. Eramo, MA for For the Record When COVID-19 hit, Joe Naretto, MHA, RHIA, senior director of HIM at Novant Health in Charlotte, North Carolina, was faced with the task of transitioning 80 full-time employees anchored onsite at various corporate locations across the state to remote work arrangements. “Our direction from leadership was:…

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