Outcomes Assessment Topics Page

The 2023 Evaluation and Management changes have been published and efforts are ongoing to educate coders and provider organizations on the guideline and code description changes that will impact professional coding in the facility setting. These changes required a significant revision to the guidelines and definitions of the various levels of complexity associated with the Number and Complexity of "Problems Addressed" during an encounter, which is the first element of medical decision making (MDM) and the following explanations and examples should provide a greater understanding of the changes headed our way in January.

According to the OIG "MEDICARE OVERPAID MORE THAN $636 MILLION FOR NEUROSTIMULATOR IMPLANTATION SURGERIES." So often we think if we get paid, we must be doing it right, well this is not always the case. You may get paid and then have to return the funds if billed incorrectly or a step ...

The additional grouper for Skilled Nursing, sometimes referred to as (PDPM), is used for classifying SNF patients in a covered Part A stay. This grouper is included with our Home Health Grouper.  Current groupers/calculators include: Home Health PDGM (Patient-Driven Grouping Model) Skilled Nursing Facility PDPM (Patient-Driven Payment Model) What is it? According to CMS, In ...

We now understand periodontitis may present itself as a manifestation of systemic diseases in fact; according to DeltaDental, research shows that more than 90 percent of all systemic diseases have oral manifestations, including swollen gums, mouth ulcers, dry mouth, and excessive gum problems. Some of these diseases include: Diabetes Leukemia Oral cancer Pancreatic cancer Heart ...

Question Is the Functional Rating Index, from the Institute of Evidence-Based Chiropractic, valid and acceptable? Or do we have to use Oswestry and NDI? Answer You can use any outcome assessment questionnaire that has been normalized and vetted for the target population and can be scored so you can compare the results from ...

Find-A-Code is a great resource for individuals working in all aspects of healthcare, from providers and ancillary staff to the attorneys and payers who assess and critique the documentation supporting the services performed. When recently asked what tools Find-A-Code has to help support medical necessity, our response was, "We provide many resources ...

Have you ever assigned a high-complexity E/M code (e.g., 99205, 99215, 99223, 99233, 99245, etc.) and wondered if it would stand up to further scrutiny? Well, let’s take a closer look at the requirements for reporting high-level E/M services.   Both the American Medical Association and Medicare-published E/M Guidelines agree that a ...

One important component of health care reporting is the utilization of quality measures which are typically classified into one of three broad categories: structure, process, or outcome. Structural measures define the healthcare provider’s capacity, systems, and processes (e.g., EHR use, ratio of providers to patients) Process measures indicate what providers do to ...

Coding tips regarding Annual Wellness Visit and Health Risk Assessments

Patient-reported outcome measures are increasingly necessary elements of good clinical practice.  By using a clinically meaningful outcome measure at the initial assessment and measuring change over time, you can track shifts in patient progress and thereby improve clinical decisions. Documenting treatment necessity (which can improve and facilitate reimbursement and decrease ...

Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) services are an effective tool for healthcare providers to identify, reduce, and prevent problematic substance use disorders. Healthcare practices can help their patients and improve their integrated care standards with the proper use of the SBIRT.