Author: Gleberman, Amy L.

Source: Journal of AHIMA - Coding Notes

Publication Date: January 2000

Incentive programs can be a good tool for increasing productivity while maintaining coding quality. Employees who are rewarded for extra production will likely perpetuate higher levels of productivity. High coding productivity can improve a healthcare organization's bottom line by sh....

Author: Choate, Dana M.; Rudd, Jessica

Source: Journal of AHIMA - Coding Notes

Publication Date: November 2002

Faced with a severe coder shortage, Baylor University Medical Center of Dallas, TX, decided to do something radically different. With the support of administration and financial backing of the center, we developed the Coding Education Program (CEP).

The program targets existing empl....

Author: Flewelling, Charles

Source: Journal of AHIMA - Coding Notes | Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: June 2015

With the consistently rising value of highly skilled outpatient coders, numerous HIM departments are moving to a staffing model that employs coding professionals who are well versed in coding both inpatient and outpatient encounters. Coders in the profession today should possess a mastery....

Author: Fernandez, Valerie

Source: Journal of AHIMA | Journal of AHIMA - Coding Notes

Publication Date: June 2017

A Hierarchical Condition Category (HCC) is defined as a risk adjustment model that is used to calculate risk scores to predict future healthcare costs. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) CMS-HCC model is used to predict healthcare spending for Medicare Advantage Pl....

Author: Kostick, Karen M.

Source: Journal of AHIMA - Coding Notes

Publication Date: September 2003

In 2003, the American Cancer Society estimates that 220, 900 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in the US, making it the second leading cause of cancer deaths in men.1 Today in the US, patients with prostate cancer have access to less invasive surgical cancer treatment plans. This arti....

Author: Mullin, Robert L.

Source: Journal of AHIMA - Coding Notes

Publication Date: July 2003

For accurate profiling and utilization assessment, a single patient classification system compatible with a wide variety of coding systems and clinical practices is needed. It also provides a reliable basis for healthcare funding and budgeting. However, many of the patient classification syste....

Author: Fenton, Susan H.

Source: Journal of AHIMA - Coding Notes

Publication Date: May 2005

Coded data is the basis for knowledge transfer in 21st-century healthcare. The Unified Medical Language System (UMLS) is often called the Rosetta stone of international terminologies used in healthcare worldwide.

The purpose of the UMLS is to “facilitate the development of com....

Author: Trela, Patricia

Source: Journal of AHIMA - Coding Notes | Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: May 2007

Inpatient rehabilitation facility (IRF) coding can be a challenge due to the Medicare Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility Prospective Payment System (IRF PPS), which was implemented in 2002 to cover patients paid under Medicare Part A. IRF PPS requires completion of the IRF-Patient Assessment In....

Author: Sykes, Catherine

Source: Journal of AHIMA - Coding Notes

Publication Date: September 2004

Classifications are an essential part of health information infrastructures—they "group and organize information meaningfully and systematically into a standard format that is useful for determining the similarity of ideas, events, objects or persons."1 Nationally endorsed classification....

Author: Bowden, Karen

Source: Journal of AHIMA - Coding Notes

Publication Date: March 2010

Like the rest of the US economy, the healthcare industry is facing some harsh economic realities today. Credit is tight and the public sector continues to slash spending, requiring healthcare providers-especially hospitals-to rein in costs and protect revenue.

In times like these, h....