General

Book excerpt: Back to query basics for streamlining HIM, coding, and CDI teams to promote successful practices

By Chris Simons MS, RHIA for ACDIS Blog As the coder or CDI specialist reviews the documentation, he or she will identify opportunities to clarify diagnoses or even to identify conditions that were not previously documented but may be possible given the patient’s presentation. By querying the physician while the patient is still in the…

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Patient satisfaction is up, but billing woes can hurt online reviews, survey shows

By Meg Bryant for Healthcare Dive Dive Brief: Front-office issues like billing and scheduling can have a big effect on how patients view their medical encounters and how they review them online — and providers would be wise to take heed. That’s the takeaway from Connance’s 2018 Consumer Impact Survey. The predictive analytics firms surveyed…

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Medical schools falling short in educating students on machine learning

By Greg Slabodkin for Health Data Management While healthcare is experiencing an explosion of interest in artificial intelligence and machine learning, medical schools must do a better job of educating future clinicians about the technology. That’s the contention of researchers at the Boston University School of Medicine, who published a perspective article on Thursday in…

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Orca bites, spacecraft accidents & more: 15 weirdest ICD-10 codes

By Angie Stewart for Becker’s Hospital Review Carevoyance compiled a list of unusual ICD-10 codes to highlight the level of specificity ASCs, hospitals and medical practices must capture, according to Chief Commercial Officer Katie Vahle. Here are 15 highly unusual ICD-10 codes: 1. W5621XA: Bitten by Orca, Initial Encounter 2. X52XXXA: Prolonged Stay in Weightless…

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Physician pay stagnates and women report lower salaries, PracticeMatch says

By Beth Jones Sanborn for Healthcare Finance The largest increase from 2016 to 2017 attributed to Emergency Medicine, a specialty that saw nearly five percent growth. What Happened  PracticeMatch’s annual physician survey showed physician pay has stagnated, female doctors are still being paid less than their male colleagues. That said, among both genders overall job…

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Physician Advisors’ Role in CDI

By James P. Fee, MD, CCS, CCDS, AHIMA-approved ICD-10-CM/PCS trainer for ACDIS Blog Risk is the new buzzword in healthcare, right up there with denial. In fact, CDI programs often deploy physician advisors to assist with shared risk payment models, denial prevention, and improved outcome performance. However, a CDI physician advisor without proper training and…

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Artificial intelligence gaining trust for cancer diagnosis and treatment, study finds

By Beth Jones Sanborn for Healthcare Finance While a majority of patients say they would consider the technologies to diagnose cancer and recommend treatment, they still fear costs. What Happened A new survey from McKesson and Ipsos revealed widespread openness toward AI and genetic testing as a solution for cancer diagnosis, but concern about cost…

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Healthcare Professional Burnout: Spot It, Stop It

By Rachel Tirabassi It’s about time the burnout syndrome is making headlines in healthcare. But what exactly is it? An article published by JAMA, defines burnout as “an individual losing enthusiasm for work (emotional exhaustion), treating people as if they were objects (depersonalization), and having a sense that their work is no longer meaningful (low…

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How hospitals can prepare for new ICD-10 codes on human trafficking

By Kelly Gooch for Becker’s Hospital Review In June, the CDC published 29 ICD-10 codes to help providers document sex and labor exploitation. The human-trafficking-related codes are a collaboration between Englewood, Colo.-based Catholic Health Initiatives, the American Hospital Association’s Hospitals Against Violence initiative and clinicians at Boston-based Massachusetts General Hospital’s Freedom Clinic. They will take effect in…

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Hurricane Florence: Lessons from hospitals that survived recent natural disasters

By Beth Jones Sanborn for Healthcare Finance Here are some of the things hospitals should be working to put in place and resources available during storm season. Hurricane season is kicking into high gear. State and local governments in some areas are recommending that citizens evacuate certain areas. People are packing up. And hospitals are…

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