LHIMA Recap: YES COO Impresses with Presentation

LHIMA

Forging a bright future for YES, Executives Vanessa Youmans, Director, OP/ProFee Coding & Auditing, and Mari Cely, Director, Business Strategy & Marketing, represented YES at the annual LHIMA Convention, March 2-4, in New Orleans, LA. While attending the HIM convention, whose tagline reads, “Honoring the Past, Treasuring the Present, and Shaping the Future,” Vanessa and Mari focused on “shaping the future” of YES by meeting with members of the LHIMA chapter and connecting with potential clients.

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Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare: How Natural Language Processing Can Benefit the Medical Field

Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence (AI) can help transform patient data into value at an accelerated pace without incurring high costs or eating up limited time and resources (Wolters Kluwer, 2020). The AI algorithms produce insights into treatments, care processes, diagnostics, and patient outcomes (Health IT Analytics, 2018). Natural Language Processing (NLP) tools, one branch of AI, “include applications such as speech recognition, text analysis, translation, and other goals related to language,” according to Future Healthcare Journal (2019).

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New COVID-19 MS-DRG Assignment, Effective April 1

ms-drg v37

ICD-10-CM code U07.1 COVID-19 will be in effect as of April 1 in the US, which was pushed up from the normal effective date of October 1 for new codes. The reasoning for this unprecedented change is for the urgent need of immediate data collection. CMS has released a new update on 3/23/2020: “The ICD-10 MCE Version 37.1 R1 uses edits for the ICD-10 codes reported to validate correct coding on claims for discharges on or after April 1, 2020″ (2020). The ICD-10 MS-DRG Grouper software package to accommodate this new code, Version 37.1 R1, is effective for discharges on or after April 1, 2020.

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Update: New ICD-10 Code For COVID-19 Effective April 1

Covid-19 coding

The United States will begin using code U07.1 COVID-19 as of April 1 – rather than the usual effective date for new codes of October 1. This new code is being fast-tracked to allow for the urgent need of immediate data collection. Interim coding guidelines from the CDC are still to be used between now and the effective date (CDC, 2020). Review our previous article, “Coding for Coronavirus Outbreak: Interim Guidance from the CDC,” for additional information about code U07.1.

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Medical Coding & Billing Tips for COVID-19

COVID-19

With the number of COVID-19 (2019-Novel Coronavirus) cases expected to rise in North America, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has provided information on how to medically code and bill all encounters related to COVID-19 for Medicare beneficiaries (CMS, 2020).

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