Winter Blues

Winter Blues — Fun with ICD-10F32.0 — Major depressive disorder, single episode, mildnF33.1 — Seasonal depressive disorder, recurrent, moderatenF43.21 — Adjustment disorder with depressed moodnnIn preparation for the upcoming deadline for ICD-10 implementation, Welter Healthcare Partners presents weekly ICD-10 Codes of the Week! Our goal is to familiarize you with the new and expanded code set and the additional clinical documentation needed from your providers to comply with ICD-10 coding, and more importantly, for accurate and clean claims submission to keep your revenue stream flowing! We are to help YOU prepare for the October 1, 2015 implementation date. Please don’t hesitate to contact us for all of your training and education needs!

E/M Coding Calculator from Welter Healthcare Partners

E/M Coding Calculator from  Welter Healthcare PartnersThe E/M Coding Calculator is a resource designed to assist providers with appropriate code selection for evaluation and management services. This tool is a simplified version of the Novitas auditor’s instructions, and can be used as a guide to understand the evaluation and management coding and documentation guidelines.nnPage One includes a snapshot of the levels of service used in the outpatient care setting and their documentation requirements. Page One also includes time thresholds for each level of E/M service, and the specific documentation requirements for time-based billing.nnPage Two includes the formula for calculating history, exam, and medical-decision-making along with a table outlining the differences between body areas and organ systems, which is particularly important when calculating physical exam.nn nn nnn n

CLICK HERE TO VIEW PRINTABLE VERSION OF E/M CODING CALCULATOR

Health Savings Accounts (HSA)

shutterstock_85920487Ask your patients if they have an HSA (Health Savings Account)! They will appreciate your inquiry. Keep track of those patients and run HSA specials! Have HSA specials on cash pay services at slow volume times.nnA health savings account (HSA) is a tax-advantaged medical savings account available to taxpayers in the United States who are enrolled in a high-deductible health plan (HDHP). The funds contributed to an account are not subject to federal income tax at the time of deposit. Unlike a flexible spending account (FSA), funds roll over and accumulate year to year if not spent. HSAs are owned by the individual, which differentiates them from company-owned Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRA) that are an alternate tax-deductible source of funds paired with either HDHPs or standard health plans. HSA funds may currently be used to pay for qualified medical expenses at any time without federal tax liability or penalty.nnStay tuned for more Todd’s Tips!nn


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Todd150About R. Todd Welter • MS, CPCnFounder and President of Welter Healthcare Partners

nMr. Welter has over 25 years of healthcare industry experience assisting physicians and other providers, hospitals and other facilities with the business side of medicine. Through strategic planning and analysis, Mr. Welter’s main focus is to strategically increase revenues and profitability in this radically changing health care environment. 
Mr. Welter has a Masters Degree in Organizational Leadership from Regis University in Denver where he has had an appointment as affiliate faculty in the School for Professional Studies for over ten years. In addition, Mr. Welter holds a faculty appointment at the University of Denver’s University College. In the Health Care Leadership program he teaches Macro Economics in Health Care and Innovative Strategies and Change in Health Care to graduate students.

What Makes Your Heart Skip A Beat?

What Makes Your Heart Skip A Beat? — Fun With ICD-10R00.2 — PalpitationsnR00.0 — Rapid heart beatnI48.0 — Paroxysmal atrial fibrillationnI48.4 — Atypical atrial flutternnIn preparation for the upcoming deadline for ICD-10 implementation, Welter Healthcare Partners presents weekly ICD-10 Codes of the Week! Our goal is to familiarize you with the new and expanded code set and the additional clinical documentation needed from your providers to comply with ICD-10 coding, and more importantly, for accurate and clean claims submission to keep your revenue stream flowing! We are to help YOU prepare for the October 1, 2015 implementation date. Please don’t hesitate to contact us for all of your training and education needs!

ICD-10 Congressional Hearing Panelists Debate Implementation

ICD-10 Congressional Hearing Panelists Debate ImplementationHealthcare professionals that work with coded data on a daily basis were well represented in the US House of Representatives’ Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health hearing, titled “Examining ICD-10 Implementation,” which took place Wednesday morning in Washington, DC.n

ICD-10 Congressional Hearing Panelists Debate Implementation Myths, Industry Impact, and Readiness

nWith panelists representing those both for and against an outright switch to the new ICD-10 code set on October 1, 2015, the subcommittee representatives listened to debate on stakeholder ICD-10 readiness, implementation costs, and the impact another delay would have on the healthcare industry. (Click here to view a video replay of the hearing.)nnPanelist Sue Bowman, MJ, RHIA, CCS, FAHIMA, AHIMA’s senior director of coding policy and compliance, urged Congress in her testimony not to enact further delays and allow the US to keep pace with other industrialized nations who adopted ICD-10 years ago.nn“So the industry initially had more than four years after publication of the final rule to prepare for the ICD-10 transition. As a result of the two one-year delays granted by HHS [Department of Health and Human Services] in 2012 and Congress in 2014, the healthcare industry has had more than six years to prepare,” Bowman said. “This length of time is more than adequate for all segments of the healthcare industry to be ready for the transition.”nnICD-10 Congressional Hearing Panelists Debate ImplementationPanelist William Jefferson Terry, MD, representing the American Urological Association, as well as his own practice, voiced concerns about lost physician productivity if ICD-10 is adopted too quickly.nn“Physicians are overwhelmed with the tsunami of regulations that have significantly increased the volume of work for physicians and their staff, many of which have questionable value to improving the quality of care provided to patients,” Terry stated during the hearing. “Many physician practices, especially the rural one- or two-physician practices do not have the time, money, or expertise to follow and comply with the mounting regulatory challenges, which is why many are considering early retirement or opting out of the Medicare program.”nnProponents of implementing ICD-10-CM/PCS on the October 1, 2015 deadline likely left the hearing with optimism, based on the testimony of the panelists and comments from key committee members.nnAt the outset of the hearing, Rep. Joe Pitts (R-PA), the subcommittee’s chairman, voiced his support for moving forward with ICD-10 implementation in October 2015. This was particularly notable since the delay language was added to a bill Pitts introduced in last year’s “Protecting Access to Medicare” bill that delayed ICD-10 implementation by an additional year.nnICD-10 Congressional Hearing Panelists Debate ImplementationRep. Kathy Castor (D-FL) also spoke out in support of an October 2015 implementation, and Rep. Tony Cardenas (D-CA) noted the California Hospital Association’s advocacy efforts to keep implementation on track for this year.nnOf the seven industry experts who testified today, only one—Terry, from the Mobile Urology Group—outright opposed implementation in 2015. ICD-10 advocate panelists at the hearing included Edwin M. Burke, MD, from the Beyer Medical Group; Richard Averill, from 3M Health Information Systems; Kristi A. Matus, from insurer Athena Health; Carmella Bocchino, from America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP); and John Hughes, MD, a health data researcher and professor of medicine at Yale University.nn

Click Here To Read More

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Source: www.ahima.org; Mary Butler; February 11, 2015.