Healthcare

Has CAC Lived Up to Its Promise? Providers, Vendors Weigh In

Article by Lisa A. Eramo, MA. This article was originally published on the Journal of AHIMA website on June 1, 2017 and is republished here with permission. In the months leading up to the ICD-10 go-live, many hospitals implemented computer-assisted coding (CAC) in the hopes that it would offset anticipated productivity losses and boost coding accuracy. Now…

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Christie: Opioid Commission May Propose Changing HIPAA Rules

By Katherine Landergan for POLITICO MORRISTOWN — The presidential opioid commission may propose changing patient privacy regulations so there are clear exemptions for overdose cases, Gov. Chris Christie, the commission chairman, said Monday. Christie said the commission could recommend a retooling of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, or HIPAA, so physicians…

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OIG Estimates $729.4M in Erroneous EHR Incentive Payments

By Kate Monica for EHR Intelligence OIG estimates 12 percent of the total Medicare EHR incentive payments issued to EPs between 2011 and 2014 were made incorrectly. CMS overpaid an estimated $729.4 million in Medicare EHR incentive payments to eligible professionals (EPs) who failed to meet meaningful use requirements, the Office of Inspector General (OIG)…

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Five Sentenced in $19 Million ‘Fake Cerner’ Fraud Scheme

By Thomas Dworetzky for DOTmed HealthCareBusiness Daily News The leader and his four co-defendants in a long term con in which the gang created fake “Cerner Corporation” employees to bilk investors, banks and businesses has been sentenced to prison. Albert Davis, who had pleaded guilty to wire fraud in a Kansas City U.S. District Court…

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Managing Millennials in HIM

Article by Kayce Dover, MSHI, RHIA. This article was originally published on the Journal of AHIMA website on May 1, 2017 and is republished here with permission. Healthcare is one of the fastest growing sectors of the economy, and Millennials (individuals born between 1982 and 2000) are a vast and vital part of a multigenerational workforce. This article…

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Imaging Use Plunges as Coding, Reimbursement Tightens Up

By Rachel Z. Arndt for Modern Healthcare Medical imaging use in the U.S. has dropped significantly after years of widespread growth, leading to curtailed hiring, equipment purchases and reduced access to the technology thanks to cuts in federal reimbursement and new coding arrangements, according to a new study. After the imaging boom of the 2000s, payers…

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To Query or Not to Query? That Is the Question

Article byHarvey Bair, RN, PhD, CCDS, CRC. This article was originally published on the Journal of AHIMA website on April 28, 2017 and is republished here with permission. Do you find yourself wondering what to focus on when querying for ICD-10 specificity? Are you concerned that your organization’s query process may overwhelm providers? You are not alone; the…

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AHIMA CEO Named Among Most Powerful Women in Health IT

Article by Mary Butler. This article was originally published on the Journal of AHIMA website on April 11, 2017 and is republished here with permission. For the second year in a row, AHIMA CEO Lynne Thomas Gordon, MBA, RHIA, FACHE, CAE, FAHIMA, has been named one of Health Data Management’s Most Powerful Women in Healthcare IT. The second…

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Secret Data on Hospital Inspections May Soon Become Public

By Charles Ornstein for npr The public could soon get a look at confidential reports about errors, mishaps and mix-ups in the nation’s hospitals that put patients’ health and safety at risk, under a groundbreaking proposal from federal health officials. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services wants to require that private health care accreditors…

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