Coding professionals don’t come a dime a dozen, so retention is key

Jobs are in short supply in many industries throughout the country, but health care is looking for a few good workers and not just nurses. Hospitals are finding it hard to locate and keep medical coders. Read More

Scanning system boosts registration efficiency

Registrars at the University Hospital of Arkansas in Little Rock are saving time and paper and creating more accessible records by scanning patients insurance and health information into the hospitals computer system, says Mary Nellums, CHAM, admissions manager. Read More

What you don’t know about APCs can hurt you

Editors note: This is the second of a two-part series on improving emergency department reimbursement under ambulatory payment classifications. Read More

Think you’re exempt from the therapy cap?

Heres an issue you may not have considered amid all the headaches of Medicares pending $1,590 outpatient therapy cap. Read More

Take a deep breath; then prepare for EDI deadline

Just as hospitals take a breath after rushing to make sure they are in compliance with the privacy standard, its time to get in gear for the upcoming transaction code-set deadline mandated by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), which is Oct. 16, 2003. Read More

Technology helped facility with HIPAA compliance

For Baystate Health System, a $1 billion integrated health system operating in western Massachusetts, compliance with the privacy standard of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) has been seen as more than a technology issue. Read More

Payment processes could be changed under HIPAA

Medical Banking Project founder John Casillas says one of the changes in the final Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) security rule eliminated any requirement to encrypt electronically transmitted protected health information, even over the Internet or other open networks. Read More

New privacy issue not about HIPAA

Theres a new patient confidentiality development that HIM personnel should know about, and it has nothing to do with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act privacy standard. Read More

News Briefs

More help sought for rural hospitals; HCA changes policies to give more financial aid; HHS funds centers to serve uninsured Read More

DRG Coding Advisor: Critical care billing requires careful documentation

When does critical care become just another emergency department (ED) visit? When you fail to document it properly. You may do all the right things for a patient in crisis, but if the paperwork isnt done properly, you dont get paid for your efforts. Read More