Consult your emergency management plan when facing an impending storm, and update this plan with lessons learned after each storm to avoid grappling with problems that may already have solutions. This is just one of the lessons reinforced for hospitals that were impacted by Winter Storm Jonas (aka “Snowzilla”) back in January 2016.
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Tag Archives: Study
NC Study and Medicare Denials
Fellow neuro coders. Help
We have been submitting claims to medicare for nerve conduction study and they have been denied as "medically unnecessary". Example of one clinical note:
"This is a 71-year-old gentleman with pain in his legs.
–
DESCRIPTION OF RECORD: Right and left lower extremities were
examined. Right and left peroneal nerve distal latencies, amplitudes,
and conduction velocities were within normal limits. Right and left
tibial nerve distal latencies, amplitudes, and conduction velocities
were within normal limits. Right and left sural nerve distal
latencies, amplitudes, and conduction velocities were within normal
limits. F-wave studies performed on tibial and peroneal nerves showed
100% F-wave occurrence in all nerves tested.
–
IMPRESSION: Unremarkable nerve conduction study of the lower
extremities."
This was billed as a 95909-26 with ICD 10 code M79.604
if there is something missing in the documentation or should it be coded differently, I would like to know so I can inform the provider.
Please advise. Thanks everyone
2016 study guide error
This may seem a little late, but I was reviewing for the 2018 CCVTC with the 2016 version of the study guide (I bought it years ago with intent on taking test sooner). I noticed a mistake with the case regarding mitral valve reconstruction. The answer given for the question regarding CPT code selection clearly is incorrect. I was wondering if this was corrected in later editions and/or is this something I should pay attention to on the exam (as the authors of the exam wrote the study guide).
Sue Study
My pain doctor just asked me for the code for a Sue Study (it may not be spelled as the name, I’m just going by what my doctor said). I have not been able to find anything on this…
HELP!!!!
Thanks
Case study: Automating sepsis alerts at Harborview Medical Center
Rosemary Grant, BSN, RN, CPHQ, is the sepsis coordinator at Harborview. She says her facility chose to focus on sepsis detection because the condition is “prevalent, expensive, and deadly.”
“When we looked at data from our hospital and others, we saw that patients who develop sepsis in the hospital have a much higher mortality than patients who arrive in the emergency department with sepsis,” Grant says. “So we knew we needed to focus on faster identification of sepsis in our inpatient population.”
Case study: How DeKalb Medical cut its overridden medication safety alerts after fatal accident
Last October, the hospital was placed under immediate jeopardy following the death of a patient with dementia. After being admitted from a nursing home, the patient was given 10 times the maximum daily dose of a calcium channel blocker, causing a fatal overdose. DeKalb Medical officers self-reported the incident to CMS and released a statement saying they “want to make sure it never happens again.”
CT PE Protocol Studies–CT or CTA study?
When a referring physician orders a CT thorax/chest, and the radiologist (signing physician) dictates a report that states that ct angiography was performed with contrast and with 3D image reconstructing/reformatting, would it be correct to charge this now as a CTA? Or because the referring doctor only ordered the initial study as a regular CT must it also be coded as just a CT thorax w contrast?
In this instance, my radiologist is telling me that CT PE protocol is always a CTA study, but the order from the referring physician is only for a regular CT thorax with contrast. If all other documentation for a CTA is met can I still code for a CTA in this circumstance?
In this instance, my radiologist is telling me that CT PE protocol is always a CTA study, but the order from the referring physician is only for a regular CT thorax with contrast. If all other documentation for a CTA is met can I still code for a CTA in this circumstance?
-SP
Electrophysiology study
Good morning, in need of ASA code for Electrophysiology study only, new ASA code crossed to 00534 or 00530, i can’t use neither of the code due no pacemaker or cardioverter-defibrillator present. No ablation was preformed due to negative electrophysiology study. Please help.
2018 CANPC coding study guide book available for purchase on Amazon
Vino C. Mody Jr., M.D., Lic., Ph.D.
6154 Black Mallard Place
El Paso, TX 79932
678-427-6511 cell; 915-642-4269 home
[email protected]
6154 Black Mallard Place
El Paso, TX 79932
678-427-6511 cell; 915-642-4269 home
[email protected]
February 2, 2018
Dear Agent:
Please allow me to introduce my recently completed non-fiction bookCANPC Essentials for Accurate and Efficient Medical Coding for Anesthesia and Pain Managementa self-help book aimed at readers who are pursuing a career in anesthesia and pain management coding. The primary target audience is those who are about to take the Certified Anesthesia and Pain Management Coder (CANPCTM) examination, but the book is expected to be a useful and relevant reference book for coders already working in this field.
CANPC Essentials for Accurate and Efficient Medical Coding for Anesthesia and Pain Management weighs in at approximately 23,000 words and is fully complete. My previous publications include 100 conference abstracts and 25 original scientific papers published during my eight-year tenure as a clinical researcher at the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden. I also served as editor of three different clinical research journals while at Karolinska.
I have worked in the healthcare field for 15 years at different hospitals in the U.S. and Sweden. I have valid medical coding specialist certificates from the University of Georgia and U.S. Career Institute and several important coding and billing certifications (COC, CPC, CCS-P, CANPC, CCVTC, 4Med CICP, CMAA, and CBCS). I taught coding and worked as a coder for three years in health care institutes and with coding consultants in El Paso, Texas, and I worked in the medical administration department at Mesa Hills Hospital in El Paso, Texas, where I resolved billing issues by performing coding (including surgery coding), medical auditing, medical transcription, and quality data analysis. I have a medical degree from Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia, and received training from Yale-New Haven Hospital (Waterbury, CT) and Brown University/Lifespan. I have a Licentiate degree and Ph.D. from Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden, and eight years of experience in ophthalmology research and teaching in ophthalmology, surgery, medicine, and pediatrics. I have drawn heavily on both my coding and teaching experience in developing CANPC Essentials for Accurate and Efficient Medical Coding for Anesthesia and Pain Management as a training and teaching tool for future anesthesia coders.
I have researched the work and interests of your agency, and I believe that my book fits well with the type of published works that you promote. I have therefore included an outline, a synopsis, and a copy of the completed manuscript for your perusal.
I thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Vino C. Mody Jr.
The book is available for purchase on Amazon in Kindle edition and paperback form with a 2019 CANPC coding supplement planned.
Case study: Saint Anthony cuts a swath through catheter infections with hospitalwide huddles
In just two years, Saint Anthony Hospital in Chicago faced down HAIs, cutting its HAI rate by 90% and saving itself $ 498,000. The hospital even won the Illinois Health and Hospital Association’s (IHA) “Innovation Challenge: Partners in Progress Award.”