2021

How hospitals can use Z codes to track social determinants of health

Georgina Gonzalez for Becker’s Hospital Review Z codes, which are ICD-10-CM codes used to identify non-medical factors that may affect a patient’s health status, are a useful way to track social determinants of health and capture standardized data for Medicare beneficiaries. However, they are underused, with Z codes reported from only 1.59 percent of beneficiaries…

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Docs who spend less time in the EHR are more likely to leave their jobs

By Kat Jercich for Healthcare IT News A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association Network Open this week found an association with electronic health record usage patterns and physician turnover. But contrary to researchers’ hypothesis, their analysis found that less time in the EHR – especially inbox management – was associated with provider departure.…

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Watch for these urology-related CPT codes this January

By Jonathan Rubenstein, MD, Mark Painter for Urology Times New and updated codes encompass balloon continence devices, hypospadias Current Procedure Terminology (CPT) codes are continuously being updated. New and updated Category I and III codes will become active on January 1, 2022. In addition, some other Category III codes may be released on July 1 of…

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37% of millennials don’t trust their providers, study shows

By Katie Adams by Becker’s Hospital Review Americans between ages 25 and 34 are most likely to say they don’t always trust their healthcare provider to make the right decisions for them, according to research released by branding agency Monigle. In partnership with the American Hospital Association and the Society for Health Care Strategy and Market Development,…

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Battling misinformation on TikTok has become ‘2nd job’ for some physicians

By Hannah Mitchell for Becker’s Hospital Review Physicians are going beyond their job duties to get on TikTok to debunk COVID-19 misinformation, according to a Sept. 28 11 Alive report. TikTok is reaching 1 billion users each month, which can make disproving dangerous cures, treatments and myths critical for COVID-19 pandemic recovery. Jayne Morgan, MD, the executive…

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Kaiser Permanente researchers push the envelope with AI and NLP

By Bill Siwicki for Healthcare IT News Although healthcare is squarely in the era of big data and data analytics, it remains difficult in clinical research to accurately identify patients with complex conditions like valvular heart disease through medical records. THE PROBLEM And if researchers cannot identify these patients, they cannot study them, track practice…

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7 ways hospitals are verifying employee vaccine cards to combat fakes

By Hannah Mitchell for Becker’s Hospital Review Hospitals are implementing several procedures to verify COVID-19 vaccine cards submitted by employees, as some employees have been linked to using fake cards to bypass vaccine mandates. Several employees at Newark, N.J.-based University Hospital have been fired for submitting fake vaccine cards to comply with its COVID-19 vaccine mandate. New…

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Hospitals projected to lose $54 billion in net income this year

By Susan Morse for Healthcare News Higher expenses for labor, drugs and supplies as well as a continuation of delayed care during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is projected to cost hospitals an estimated $54 billion in net income over the course of this year, according to a new Kaufman Hall analysis released by the American Hospital Association. Hospitals…

Read MoreHospitals projected to lose $54 billion in net income this year