Archive for the Week of April 14, 2017
Archive for the Week of April 14, 2017
Welcome to the medical billing blog archive for the week of April 14, 2017.
Here you will find links to every article added to the Outsource Management Group web site during the week of April 14, 2017.
You can browse this week's archives by clicking the "More" button from any of the excerpts below.
14 things to know about medical coding
Medical coders play a crucial role in the revenue cycle process, as they help ensure health systems, hospitals and physicians are properly reimbursed for the services they provide. Here are 14 things to know about medical coding. 1. AAPC describes medical coding as “the transformation of healthcare diagnosis, procedures, medical services and equipment into universal medical alphanumeric codes.” 2. Once medical coding professionals assign a code to a specific healthcare service or procedure, the code is included on an insurance claim, according to AAPC. This code tells the insurer how much it owes for the care and helps determine how much the patient will be billed. 3. Coders use a …
The Latest Details on HIPAA Compliance Audits
Deven McGraw, deputy director of the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights has announced that the department’s plans for initiating onsite audits is currently on hold and will remain so until more than 200 desk audits have been completed. An article over on Data Breach Today gives us great detail on where HIPAA compliance audits stand with their enforcing agency. McGraw informed the HIMSS17 conference in February of the delay. We have decided that it makes a lot more sense to [first] take a look at all we had in the desk audit process and even prepare the overarching report to the public about how those …
Is Your Practice Violating HIPAA Regulations?
Corpus Christi Medical Associates (CCMA), a family practice in Corpus Christi, Texas, has always found it difficult to comply with HIPAA’s privacy and security regulations. “We struggle to have enough resources to dedicate to the ever-changing environment,” said J. Stefan Walker, MD, a family medicine physician at CCMA. “There is always something new and regulations are constantly evolving. It’s a moving target, and cyber-liability is probably the greatest risk, added Walker.” Despite this sentiment, Walker was determined not to be one of the practices listed on the “Wall of Shame” webpage maintained by the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. Practices are …
