Talk Ten Tuesdays

In this edition of Talk Ten Tuesdays Chuck Buck and Holly Louie, RN welcome special guest Dr. Emmel Golden, a physician associate and medicine lead for Enjoin. Dr. Golden, board-certified in internal medicine and pulmonary disease, will report on, among other topics, those associated with major disease category 18, including the confusing aspects of coding systemic inflammatory response syndrome, or SIRS. Other segments to be featured on the broadcast include: News Desk: Coding Changes:...

The next big milestone for ICD-10 is the 2018 Coordination and Maintenance Committee meeting in Baltimore. The two-day meeting covered the latest requests for diagnosis and procedure codes. Monitoring and reporting on the meeting during this edition of Talk Ten Tuesdays will be Laurie Johnson, senior healthcare consultant for Revenue Cycle Solutions, LLC and an ICD10monitor contributor. Other segments to be featured on the broadcast include: News Desk: Tuesday Focus: Mental Health Report...

Questions are overflowing about the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS’s) proposed changes to evaluation and management (E&M) coding and reimbursement found inside the proposed 2019 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule. Returning this coming Tuesday for the next edition of Talk Ten Tuesdays will be Sally Streiber, president of Practical Coding Solutions, LLC. Sally is expected to answer some of those questions when she continues her two-part series reviewing the proposed...

Backlash continues over the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed changes to evaluation and management (E&M) coding and reimbursement found inside the proposed 2019 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule. But it’s not all bad news. On this edition of Talk Ten Tuesdays, when Sally Streiber, president of Practical Coding Solutions, LLC, returns to the broadcast and launch part one of her two-part series reviewing the proposed changes. Sally will begin the first part of her series...

Nearly 30 days ago, we posed the question “Are HIM Coding Professionals Qualified to Query for Clinical Validity?” leading up to the July 17 edition of Talk Ten Tuesdays, and the responses continue to roll in, nearly unabated. Specifically, we asked at that time, “are seasoned coding professionals competent or trained well enough to interpret clinical terms and concepts from the medical record?” And many of you responded with an unequivocal “yes.” As a consequence, we will proceed with Part...

There is a lot of buzz out in the industry about ICD-11, especially since the World Health Organization (WHO) released the new code set in June as first reported by ICD10monitor and Talk Ten Tuesday. Nevertheless, ICD-11 is a trending topic—a topic we will explore during this edition of Talk Ten Tuesdays. That’s when nationally recognized coding authority Rhonda Buckholtz will report on the need to make sure all of the coding options have been refined in ICD-10-CM in order to make coding...

Back in February, as reported by ICD10monitor, the American Hospital Association (AHA) changed coding rules, allowing case managers and social workers to assign Z codes—one of 88 assignable ICD-10 codes to report on claims for homelessness, low income, stressful work environment, low literacy, divorce, personal history of abuse, and many more. But not all healthcare professionals—including a number of physicians—are getting the message. To help clear up the confusion, Ellen Fink-Samnick, a...

Coding guidelines and advice are taking bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) to a surgical DRG. Should the body part be the bronchus or the lung? Reporting our lead story is Erica Remer, MD and Inpatient Compliance Specialist Stacey Elliott. Both will discuss their concerns. Other segments to be featured on the broadcast include: Talk Ten Tuesdays News Desk Dateline Washington: CDI Report: Talk Ten Tuesdays. More than just talk.™ Click here to view handout from Ellen Fink-Samnick on SDoH

Are seasoned coding professionals competent or trained well enough to interpret clinical terms and concepts from the medical record? Although they have been doing so for decades, the question continues to remain contentious. Reporting our lead story during this edition of Talk Ten Tuesdays will be Debra Beisel Denton, who works at Maricopa Integrated Health System as the health information management (HIM) system coding educator. Other segments to be featured on the broadcast...

Fast, convenient, and cutting-edge, the new trend of text-messaging medical orders is being met with mixed results. Some favor the ease and speed, while others are concerned that it could comprise patient safety while not accurately documenting patient care. Reporting our lead story during the next edition of Talk Ten Tuesdays will be Rose Dunn, chief operations officer for First Class Solutions. Rose will report on findings of a survey focusing on texting of medical orders and the...

ICD-11 codes are becoming healthcare’s new reality since the new code set was released this week by the World Health Organization (WHO) and reported on by ICD10monitor. And already important questions are emerging. Will it be possible to have a paper ICD-11 book? Will there be more electronic tools available to assist with understanding the new classification? These and other topics are covered by the WHO’s Robert Jakob, the special guest on this edition of Talk Ten Tuesdays. Calling in...

In the era of #metoo, a new national study – “Sexual Harassment of Physicians Report 2018” – was published this week by Medscape, reporting that more than 10 percent of female physicians have experienced workplace sexual harassment. Continuing its reporting on women’s health issues, and in particular gender wage disparity, Talk Ten Tuesdays will delve into this topical social issue that has until recently been an underreported in healthcare. Also weighing in on this matter is special guest...

University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) is a world-renowned healthcare provider and insurer based in Pittsburgh, Penn. With more than 30 academic, community, and specialty hospitals, 600 doctors’ offices in outpatient sites, and more than 4,600 physicians, operating an array of rehabilitation, retirement, and long-term care facilities, UPMC relies on technology to help enhance its coding and clinical documentation improvement (CDI) program. And the latest reiteration of its CDI...

There are 78,881 ICD-10-PCS codes for fiscal year 2019. Of these there will be 392 new codes; eight revision titles; and 216 deleted codes, according to nationally recognized coding authority Gloryanne Bryant, who reports our lead story during this episode. The files, recently released by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), and first reported by ICD10monitor, contain information on the ICD-10-PCS updates that all hospital inpatient coding professionals are to use for...

Smoldering below the surface is burnout, and it’s taking a toll on physicians. With increasingly high rates of reported physician suicides and an alarming decline in the volume of medical school applications, this situation could be the nation’s next healthcare crisis. The good news: A study published in April’s World Journal of Urology reported that using scribes in a urology practice significantly increased physician efficiency, work satisfaction, and revenue. Enter Talk Ten Tuesdays...

Whether it’s discussing equal pay for women healthcare professionals, uncovering #MeToo narratives in the medical profession, or examining studies comparing women physicians’ and surgeons’ outcomes favorably to men’s, there has never been a more important time for crucial conversations to take place about women’s health. And that is why National Women’s Health Week will be the subject of this special Talk Ten Tuesdays broadcast. Other segments to be featured on the broadcast...

If there is no chief complaint, or no acute or chronic condition, auditors may not even continue with the record and negate its value altogether, according to nationally recognized coding and documentation authority Terry Fletcher, who is currently uncovering errors in an ongoing review of more than 1,000 records. During the next edition of Talk Ten Tuesdays, she will share her findings in the second of a four-part series on auditing issues in physician documentation. Other segments to be...

Not wishing to disappoint, the 2019 Medicare Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) proposed rule, released on Tuesday, has something for everyone. For coders and clinical documentation integrity specialists (CDISs), there are proposed new codes and tweaks to the MS-DRG methodology as well as changes in New Technology add-on payments. Laurie Johnson, senior healthcare consultant for Revenue Cycle Solutions LLC and ICD10monitor contributor, will report on the latest proposal from the...

It's auditing season, and nationally recognized coding and documentation authority Terry Fletcher will be reporting on errors she is uncovering in a review of more than 1,000 records. During this episode, she shares her findings in the first of a four-part series on auditing issues in physician documentation. While maintaining that CPT® and ICD-10 coding does become less risky when documentation is done properly, she offers corrective actions one can to take to prevent negative payer...

Are you hearing more about risk adjustment methodologies and Hierarchical Condition Categories (HCCs)? No doubt you are. That's because they impact coding, clinical documentation integrity activities and reimbursement. So what impact can you have on any of these issues? During this episode Marie A. Morin, director at Alvarez and Marsal Healthcare Industry Group LLC, reports on her experiences in assisting clients with risk assessment, coding and documentation practices. Other segments...