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No one is more excited about AAPC’s HEALTHCON in Las Vegas, April 28-May 1, 2019, than AAPC’s Director of Live Events, Melanie Mestas. She and her staff plan, organize, and put HEALTHCON on every year. And Melanie is the person to do it as she’s worked on AAPC conferences for more than 20 years. When […]
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by Lacey Rupert, CPC, CEMC There is a debate about which type of training—classroom-based or independent study—is the best: but I think, in the case of coding, it is important to understand how a live class and independent training complement one another. I have met coders who were independently trained, and coders who were trained […]
AAPC Knowledge Center
Join us January 29 at 1 p.m. (Eastern) for this annual 90-minute webcast for a comprehensive review of the revenue integrity concepts applicable to drug administration services, including tips on medication administration record documentation, and for capturing charges.
How to properly document, charge, and code drug administration services (injections and infusions) continues to generate questions for most hospitals because the services are frequent and performed in numerous departments on numerous types of patients. Revenue integrity relies on orders, nurse documentation, correctly applying coding concepts, and capturing charges based on documentation.
During this program, expert speakers Jugna Shah, MPH, and Valerie A. Rinkle, MPA, will cover frequently raised questions and discuss the impact of OPPS packaging on drug administration overall payments, the importance of reviewing your MAC’s local coverage determination guidance, and hot audit topics.
For more information or to order, call 800-650-6787 and mention Source Code EZINEAD or visit the HCPro Healthcare Marketplace.
There is a super cute little toy shop in Coeur d’Alene, ID called Shenanigan’s Toy Emporium that sells vintage toys and other unique items. When traveling there on business, we usually make a stop in to shop from their wall of amazing salt water taffy and check out their selection of toys that don’t come with a power button. You know, the kind of toys we had prior to the Atari and Game Boy era!
Shenanigan’s also has a great display of giant microbes – small plush renderings of everything from the common cold to diarrhea. I am still marveling at how they could create a plush toy out of liquid stool! I’m sure it’s just the geeky coder in me (and my colleagues), but we decided to buy a few and put them out during our training sessions along with our baskets of Play Dough, pipe cleaners, and candy (we like to have FUN in our training sessions!). Needless to say, they were a big hit with our clients and we noticed on one of the tags that there was a website where we could order more. By now your interest is surely piqued, so be sure to check out the online Giant Microbes store.
You’re probably thinking what I’m thinking right about now, which is, wouldn’t these giant microbes make great white elephant gifts for Christmas? My thoughts immediately went to what would be appropriate for my family’s white elephant gift exchange. Don’t worry, my family has a great sense of humor – there’s still a copy of Pamela Anderson’s novel (yes, she wrote one) complete with the “naughty” pages clipped together courtesy of my grandmother who was sheltering her daughter from the filthy parts. And what better gift for someone in 2014 than the Ebola virus? There’s just one problem.
Sold out.
Apparently I am not the only person who thinks that Ebola would make a great Christmas gift. It’s a sign of recent headlines that this virus, which is actually kind of cute in plush form, is unavailable. What’s even more worrisome given that this was the year Ebola came to the US, is that we don’t have an ICD-9-CM code to report it. Here’s the best we can do in ICD-9:
What about ICD-10-CM? How about this?
YESSSSSS! Way more specific!
In previous years as we’ve prepped for ICD-10 implementation, the opponents have given a laundry list of extensive and admittedly ridiculous (yet fun!) ICD-10 codes that begged the question, why do we really need this? And this year, Ebola was delivered to our health system and we have nonspecific codes to report it. But in ICD-10, we have a very specific code. Hmm. Perhaps this ICD-10 thing really could help with reporting and impact patient care. Just a thought.
So Santa, if I can’t have Ebola for Christmas this year, could I please have ICD-10 so that I can code it for those people who did get it?
Author’s Note: I am not affiliated with Shenanigan’s Toy Emporium or giantmicrobes.com in any way. I am just a really big fan!
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