January 2022

American Cancer Society: US cancer deaths fell 32% since 2019

By Cailey Gleeson for Becker’s Hospital Review Overall cancer deaths in the U.S. have declined 32 percent since 2019, according to a report published Jan. 12 in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians. The report compiled the most recent data on population-based cancer occurrences and outcomes using a variety of databases, including the National Cancer Institute’s Surveillance,…

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Healthcare roles dominate U.S. News 2022 list of best jobs

By Hailey Mesnik for Healthcare Dive Dive Brief: Healthcare and healthcare support roles were highly ranked in U.S. News and World Report’s annual list of best jobs released Tuesday, accounting for nearly four in 10 of the 100 best jobs across all industries. Information security analyst is the top job this year overall, followed by nurse practitioner,…

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HIM Challenges: The Future Looks Bright for Coders

By Angela Lima, BS, CCS, CDIP, CIC, COC for For the Record Libman Education’s survey found that 87% of respondents plan to increase their coding expertise. As you read this article, you’re probably sitting in your home office, drinking your third (or fourth) cup of coffee, and perhaps even wearing your favorite pair of slippers. That’s…

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Nurses are the most trusted professionals in the U.S. for the 20th year running

By Jeff Lagasse for Healthcare Finance Americans have deemed nurses to be the most honest and ethical professionals in the country for the 20th straight year according to a new Gallup poll. And while the numbers aren’t quite as strong as in the previous year, when respect for healthcare workers was at an all-time high…

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55% of physicians would take a pay cut for a better work-life balance, survey says

Patsy Newitt for Becker’s Hospital Review Fifty-five percent of physicians said they would take a salary reduction to have a better work-life balance, compared to 47 percent of physicians last year, according to the results of the “Medscape 2022 Physician Lifestyle and Happiness Report.” The report examined survey responses from more than 13,000 U.S.-based physicians…

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White Paper Details Technology’s Impact on CDI

From For the Record AHIMA and the Association of Clinical Documentation Integrity Specialists (ACDIS) released a new white paper that examines how rapid advancement in health care technology is driving changes to the practice of clinical documentation integrity (CDI). CDI is critical to the usability of medical data and ongoing efforts to improve patient care. New technologies, such as artificial…

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Omicron makes up 95% of all new US cases: CDC

Gabrielle Masson for Becker’s Hospital Review The omicron variant accounted for an estimated 95.4 percent of COVID-19 cases in the U.S. for the week ending Jan. 1, according to CDC data. Just the previous week, the variant accounted for an estimated 58.6 percent of COVID-19 cases. That count was revised from an initial CDC estimate that projected omicron…

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Book excerpt: A brief history of query practice briefs

By Karen Newhouser, RN, BSN, CCDS, CCDS-O, CCS, CDIP, CCM from the ACDIS CDI Blog As the CDI and coding professions continue to evolve, query guidance methods have changed along with them. The first industry standard brief, “Developing a Physician Query Process,” published by AHIMA in 2001, set the foundation for the compliant query practice.…

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22% of physicians considering early retirement amid COVID-19: 4 stats to know

By Patsy Newitt for Becker’s Hospital Review COVID-19 caused a slight increase in physician retirement, but nearly three-quarters of physicians reporting being overworked, according to Doximity’s “2021 Physician Compensation Report” released Dec. 16. Here are four stats to know: Twenty-two percent of physicians are considering early retirement because of overwork. Sixteen percent of physicians are…

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Burnout and staffing shortages collided with COVID-19 in 2021 to create the perfect storm

Susan Morse for Healthcare Finance  Through the bad – workforce shortages and lost revenue – and the good – the rise of telehealth and Hospital-at-Home models – COVID-19 changed, and will continue to change, the way hospitals and providers strategize their business models and care for patients. Along the way, digital technology stepped in to help executives make…

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