Author: U.S. Health Care Financing Administration

Source: U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

Publication Date: April 02, 1999

Author: Moses, Rhona

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: April 1999

For the past three years I have been manager of coding education and billing guidelines at Group Health Cooperative, a 600,000-member HMO. Group Health has 25 primary care clinics, four specialty centers, an ambulatory surgical center, and two hospitals. We have about 700 staff physic....

Author: Osborn, Carol E.

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: March 1999

As HIM professionals, we want to be assured that we are providing the highest quality data for reimbursement and research purposes. We can review coded data internally, but this does not give us a clear picture of the total information that is being submitted to the Health Care Financing Admin....

Author: Wilson, Valerie; Hammer, Juanita; Washburn, Daniel

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: February 1999

St. Mary's Mercy Hospital is a 277-bed acute care facility in northwestern Oklahoma. Serving as a regional referral center, the facility provides acute medical and surgical services, critical care, neurosurgical services, inpatient rehabilitation, a skilled nursing unit, ambulatory sur....

Author: Prophet, Sue

Source: Journal of AHIMA - Coding Notes

Publication Date: February 1999

The ICD-9-CM Coordination and Maintenance Committee, cosponsored by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) and the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA), met on November 2, 1998, in Baltimore, MD. Donna Pickett, RRA, from NCHS, and Patricia Brooks, RRA, from HCFA, cochaired the....

Author: Schoenfelt, Suzanne

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: February 1999

Throughout the healthcare industry, the computer-based patient record (CPR) is in various stages of development. This article assesses the progress long term care facilities are making in moving toward the CPR. The article also suggests some ways HIM professionals can devel....

Author: Kloss, Linda L

Source: AHIMA testimony and comments

Publication Date: January 06, 1999

Text:

The American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) is pleased to have the opportunity to submit comments on the proposed prospective payment system for hospital outpatient services.

Description of the Ambulatory Payment Classification (APC) Groups
W....

Author: Thompson, Nell S.; Koch, Doreen

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: January 1999

As compliance becomes an increasingly hot topic, how can a facility ensure its coding quality? Here are some ways that HIM departments can improve the quality of coding on a daily basis.



Coding practices are continually evolving, and this evolution has brough....

Author: MacDonald, Ellen

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: January 1999

Now more than ever, HIM professionals must ensure that documentation of health information is thorough, clear, and accurate. Here are some strategies to solve problems and improve processes.

Health information managers and coding professionals have always played a vital role in adv....

Author: Willard, Dianne

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: January 1999

This article will summarize some of the major additions and revisions in the 1999 Current Procedural Terminology (CPT). A complete review of all the code and guideline changes -- including the rationale for these changes -- can be found in the November 1998 issue of the CPT Assistant newslette....

Author: Prophet, Sue

Source: Journal of AHIMA - Coding Notes

Publication Date: November 1998

Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease that causes chronic inflammation of the joints, the tissue around the joints, and other organs in the body. An autoimmune disease is one in which the body tissues are mistakenly attacked by the body's own immune system. Patients have antibodies in....

Author: Berkey, Tim

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: November 1998

As HIM professionals look for ways to become more competitive and achieve the best results, the importance of discovering best practices becomes more apparent. Here's how one team used a benchmarking project to provide specific best practices that reduced accounts receivable....

Author: AHIMA Professional Practice Team

Source: AHIMA Q and A

Publication Date: October 02, 1998

Q: I work in a skilled nursing facility and want to know if it is mandatory for all states to use Resource Utilization Groups III (RUGS III). If so, when was the deadline?

A: The Balanced Budget Act of 1997 mandates the implementation of a per diem prospective payment sy....

Author: Prophet, Sue

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: October 1998

All of the inpatient DRG and other inpatient Prospective Payment System (PPS) changes described below became effective with discharges occurring on or after October 1, 1998. Complete details of these changes can be found in the Federal Register.1
Transfers to Postacute Settings

....

Author: Labak, Carol

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: October 1998

We've all seen it before: that look of bewilderment on a physician's face when a discussion about documentation arises. While this is not the first incidence of this discussion between the physician and the health information manager, neither is it the first time the HIM professional ....

Author: Prophet, Sue

Source: Journal of AHIMA - Coding Notes

Publication Date: September 1998

The ICD-9-CM Coordination and Maintenance Committee, cosponsored by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) and the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA), met on June 4, 1998, in Baltimore, MD. NCHS's Donna Pickett, RRA, and HCFA's Patricia Brooks, RRA, co-chaired the meeting. P....

Author: Prophet, Sue

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: September 1998

Presidential Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses

President Clinton established the Presidential Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses in May 1995 to ensure an independent, open, and comprehensive examination of health concerns related to Gulf War service....

Author: Prophet, Sue

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: July 1998

The proposed rule for changes to the Medicare Hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment System (PPS) for fiscal year 1999 was published in the May 8 Federal Register. These changes would become effective with discharges as of October 1, 1998. A significant provision in this proposed rule....

Author: Willard, Dianne

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: June 1998

On January 7, 1998, the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) released the final instructions on hospital outpatient modifiers from Medicare Hospital Manual transmittal number 726 dated January 1998. These instructions were electronically released to the Medicare fiscal intermediaries,....

Author: Averill, Richard F.; Mullin, Robert L.; Steinbeck, Barbara A.; Goldfield, Norbert I; Grant, Thelma M.

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: May 1998

The ICD-10 Procedure Coding System (ICD-10-PCS) has been developed as a replacement for Volume 3 of ICD-9-CM. This article will describe the development and structure of ICD-10-PCS‹as well as describe the modifications that have been made to the system as a result of extensive review and test....

Author: Brooks, Patricia E.

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: May 1998

HCFA conducted a formal test of ICD-10-PCS (procedure coding system) in order to determine if it would be a practical replacement for the current ICD-9-CM, Procedures. This coding system was developed after an open competition contract was awarded to 3M/HIS. In order to avoid any con....

Author: AHIMA

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: May 1998

For Further Reference

The Cooperating Parties (AHIMA, American Hospital Association, Health Care Financing Administration, National Center for Health Statistics) publish official guidelines in the Coding Clinic for ICD-9-CM, available from the American Hospital Association.....

Author: Scichilone, Rita A

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: May 1998

New reimbursement methods, managed care, and the ominous specter of fraud and abuse caused by inappropriate coding have significantly affected information management and coding in physician office practices. It used to be commonplace for patients to file their own insurance claims. Now....

Author: Zender, Anne

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: May 1998

HIM professionals think of classification systems such as ICD-9-CM as tools for everyday use. But these familiar systems are evolving and changing rapidly—as Donna Pickett, RRA, is well aware.

Pickett is medical systems administrator for the Office of Data Standards, ....

Author: Welch, Julie J.

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: April 1998

What does "managed care" really represent -- and what effect has managed care had on the healthcare market? The author describes how managed care came to be a critical market force, offers a snapshot of its proliferation, and examines its effects on the traditional payment system.
It's....

Author: Rulon, Vera

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: April 1998

Increasing expenditures in Medicare have caused the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) to rethink its approach to reimbursing—and caring for—beneficiaries. Since managed care emerged as the acceptable alternative to help keep costs under control, the number of Medic....

Author: Johnson, Thomas H.; Pesek, James G.

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: March 1998

Introduction

Many health services organizations were pushed in the direction of CQI/TQM by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations' Agenda for Change, which recognized the critical need for quality improvement efforts.1 Reengineering and work redesign have....

Author: Prophet, Sue

Source: Journal of AHIMA - Coding Notes

Publication Date: March 1998

The ICD-9-CM Coordination and Maintenance Committee, cosponsored by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) and the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA), met December 4-5, 1997, in Baltimore, MD. Donna Pickett, RRA, from NCHS, and Patricia Brooks, RRA, from HCFA, cochai....

Author: Prophet, Sue

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: November 1997

The revisions to ICD-9-CM became effective with discharges occurring on or after October 1, 1997. Highlights of the changes are summarized below. Since every revision is not described in this article, it is important to review the Official Authorized Addendum. The complete addendum is publish....

Author: Eisenhauer, Sue

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: October 1997

Physician offices try to adhere to the coding and billing guidelines as defined by Medicare. However, claims to commercial insurance carriers frequently are not handled as precisely. The passage of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) has brought to our atte....

Author: Prophet, Sue

Source: Journal of AHIMA - Coding Notes

Publication Date: September 1997

The ICD-9-CM Coordination and Maintenance Committee, cosponsored by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) and the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA), met on June 5, 1997, in Baltimore, MD. NCHS's Donna Pickett, RRA, and HCFA's Patricia Brooks, RRA, cochaired the meeting. <....

Author: Prophet, Sue

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: September 1997

Hypertension complicates at least 10 percent of all pregnancies. The hypertensive disorder of pregnancy most likely to result in significant adverse clinical outcomes is preeclampsia.

Preeclampsia
Preeclampsia is unique to pregnancy and is characterized by elevated blood press....

Author: Watkins, Sue

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: July 1997

Introduction
The American Cancer Society estimates that about 1.38 million new cancer cases will be diagnosed, and about 560,000 Americans will die of cancer, in 1997.1 These estimates do not include carcinoma in situ or basal and squamous cell skin cancer. To monitor trends in cancer i....

Author: Garthe, Elizabeth

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: July 1997

Overview of Trauma Registries

How many trauma registries are there in the US? This is a tough question to answer. According to a survey conducted by members of the Emergency Nurses' Association (ENA), the number of clients reported by trauma registry software companies exceed 1850 organi....

Author: U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

Source: Government (U.S.)

Publication Date: January 02, 1997

This publication provides definitions and documentation guidelines for the three key components of E/M services and for visits which consist predominately of counseling or coordination of care.

Author: AHIMA

Source: AHIMA position statement

Publication Date: December 02, 1996

[Note: This position statement was replaced in December 2007. The revised position statement is available here.]

Author: Prophet, Sue

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: October 1996

The revisions to ICD-9-CM became effective with discharges occurring on or after October 1, 1996. Highlights of the changes are summarized below. Since not every revision is described in this article, it is important to review the official authorized addendum published in a special edition of....

Author: American Hospital Association

Source: External - used with permission

Publication Date: October 02, 1996

Author: AHIMA Coding Policy and Strategy Committee

Source: Journal of AHIMA - Coding Notes

Publication Date: September 1996

The ICD-9-CM Coordination and Maintenance Committee, cosponsored by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) and the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA), met on June 6, 1996, in Washington, DC. NCHS’s Donna Pickett, RRA, and HCFA’s Patricia Brooks, RRA, cochaired the meeting.

Author: Prophet, Sue

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: July 1996

Myocardial Infarctions

Many coders still have questions regarding the correct coding and sequencing of myocardial infarctions (MI), particularly in relation to the use of the fifth digits, transfers, underlying diagnosis, and performance of procedures. The following information is provide....

Author: Prophet, Sue

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: May 1996

Carcinoma

Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer in women. Risk factors include a personal or family history of breast cancer, delayed childbearing, and personal history of benign breast disease.
A tumor may be identified by mammogram or self-examination. Many tumors are d....

Author: AHIMA Coding Policy and Strategy Committee

Source: AHIMA practice brief

Publication Date: February 1996

This practice brief has been updated. See the latest version here. This version is made available for historical purposes only.

Author: U.S. Health Care Financing Administration

Source: Federal Register

Publication Date: September 01, 1995

[Federal Register: September 1, 1995 (Volume 60, Number 170)] [Rules and Regulations] [Page 45777-45946] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr01se95-14] [[Page 45777]] _______________________________________________________________________ Part II Departmen....

Author: Layman, Elizabeth J.; Heaps, Thomas; Bell, Brenda

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: August 1992