Healthcare News
The Refresh With YES: CPT Spinal Fusion Procedures webinar consists of 12-18-minute modules that examine Spinal Fusion procedures and topics.
On March 11, the World Health Organization (WHO) issued a declaration of the COVID-19 as a global pandemic. Two days later, the AMA announced the development of a specific code for laboratory testing for the coronavirus, code 87635 (AMA, 2020). The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released two new HCPCS codes for coronavirus testing for Medicare claims. The reporting for COVID-19 testing is dependent on the payer, either an HCPCS or CPT code should be used; there should not be more than one COVID-19 testing code on a given claim.
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.
Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare: How Natural Language Processing Can Benefit the Medical Field
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).
The Refresh With YES: ICD-10-CM Respiratory Diagnoses webinar consists of 15-21 modules that examine Respiratory diagnoses, such as COPD, Respiratory Failure, Pneumonia, Asthma, and E-Cigarettes and Vaping.
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.
Medical coding is the process of assigning numeric or alphanumeric codes to the diseases, injuries, treatments, and procedures that healthcare providers perform to record each encounter accurately and correctly bill the patient.
Preparations are underway for the incoming financial, organizational, and human burden that will be thrust upon hospitals and medical facilities across the nation due to the spread of the Novel Coronavirus and its corresponding disease (COVID-19).
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.
The global outbreak of the “zoonic” virus classified as SARS-CoV-2 and the disease that it causes (Coronavirus Disease 2019 or COVID-19) threaten to put a large-scale strain on the US health care system.