Nearly 200 people lost their lives. More than 300,000 either lost their homes completely or suffered significant damage. In the floods that came with Hurricane Sandy, New Jersey ACDIS Chapter leader Deborah Gardner-Brown lost the first floor of her home to significant water damage.
“Documentation can be greatly improved by a properly functioning query process,” AHIMA says in its 2008 “Managing an Effective Query Process” practice brief. But how can you tell whether your query process works? Peer-to-peer review of query practices and outcomes may provide a low-cost,...Read More »
The phrase “sepsis syndrome” is starting to appear in medical records these days, but unfortunately it’s a term that requires further clarification. When it’s used, CDI staff/coders should query the physician to clarify the condition being treated. That’s the latest guidance from AHA’s Coding...Read More »
AHA Coding Clinic for ICD-9-CM released its first ICD-10 coding guidance in its Fourth Quarter 2012 issue. The guidance is welcome as the first official coding regulations concerning ICD-10 to come out to date, other than the ICD-10 Official Guidelines for Coding and Reporting.Read More »
Medical schools exist to train physicians to care for sick people. I chose to be a hospitalist path because I see the value of managing issues found only in an acute care setting. I am the most professionally satisfied when I see a patient with a problem...Read More »
If you spend any time on the ACDIS networking group “CDI Talk,” you’ve seen Katy Good’s frequent commentary. She’s very active in CDI matters, both through ACDIS and at Flagstaff (Ariz.) Medical Center, where she is the CDI program coordinator. Now, you can get to know a little more about her in...Read More »
Concurrent coding. It’s a process whereby coders assign ICD-9-CM codes throughout the patient’s stay, rather than after discharge. But the practice isn’t a common one. According to a recent CDI poll on the ACDIS website, only 13% of nearly 170 respondents perform concurrent coding at their...Read More »
