Talk Ten Tuesdays

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has released the Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) Proposed Rule for the 2025 calendar year (CY).

This published information outlines significant changes impacting Medicare payment policies for hospital outpatient services. Key proposals include adjustments to payment rates, updates to the Inpatient-Only (IPO) List, and revisions to the Ambulatory Payment Classificati...

What is “Chevron deference?”
And why is it important – especially to health information management (HIM) professionals?
And who among the most learned and wise HIM professionals is arguably best qualified to report on this otherwise arcane judicial principle?
That would be the legendary Rose T. Dunn.

Dunn has offered to speak on this topic during the next edition of Talk Ten Tuesdays and is expected to highlight examples...

Where in the world is G2211?
Both payers and providers still report lack of information from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) about use of this code. If you remember, CMS promised stakeholders an FAQ document back in January. To date it has not been released.
And yet, knowing how to document the service is probably the most-asked question when it comes to this code. Currently there are no specific docu...

Each year the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, MedPAC, provides Congress a report on the Medicare fee-for-service (FFS) payment systems, the Medicare Advantage (MA) program, and the Medicare prescription drug program (Medicare Part D). Within the MedPAC report is also the often (until now) under-reported Chapter 12.
During the next live edition of Talk Ten Tuesdays, Colleen Ejak, Solution Advisor for 3M/Solventum, will rep...

With summertime fast approaching, also on the horizon are the inevitable stressors leading to increased psychiatric diagnoses and possible surges in psychopathologies.

As temperatures increase, so do incidents of mental health unrest – tempers flaring, mood disorders, and possible cognitive impairment.

That is why, with summer officially entering our lives on June 20, we have invited world-renowned psychiatrist Dr. H. Steven Moffic t...

He once explained to us the value of sleep, and gave tips on how to get more of the once-devalued therapy.

That was then. This is now.

And during the next live edition of Talk Ten Tuesdays, Dr. Nick van Terheyden will turn his attention to another vital healthcare issue: nutrition. This buzzworthy topic is becoming increasingly relevant as the White House and federal agencies continue their interest in the pivotal role of food as med...

Welcome to the 600th live edition of the long-running Talk Ten Tuesdays broadcast, produced by ICD10monitor.

In commemorating this special edition, the producers are pleased to welcome the legendary Rose T. Dunn, chief operating officer at First Class Solutions, Inc. in St. Louis, a healthcare information management leader since 1988. Rose is the author of “The Revenue Integrity Manager’s Guidebook,” available from the National Asso...

In recognition of May’s National Mental Health Awareness Month, ICD10monitor and Talk Ten Tuesdays have invited world-renowned psychiatrist and award-winning author H. Steven Moffic, MD to update his theory of social psychopathologies for the next live edition of the weekly Internet radio broadcast. According to Dr. Moffic, those are harmful individuals and group “isms,” “antis,” and social phobias.

The live broadcast will also feat...

As if buried in shifting sands like a booby trap, Modifier 25 is poised to wreak havoc on claims when it’s appended incorrectly to an evaluation and management (E&M) charge – typically to indicate a separate service on the same date of service.

So, what’s a provider to do? When is it actually appropriate to append Modifier 25?

How do providers indicate that there was a significant yet separately identifiable E&M service that ...

The ongoing consolidation of independent physician practices, in many cases resulting in ownership by private equity groups and large health systems, is causing a shift from traditional medicine to the corporate practice of medicine. The result often is not in the best interest of patients, given that the focus tends to be on maximizing profits rather than patient care.
What are the solutions to this ongoing crisis?
During ...

There’s a renewed sense of urgency. Today’s healthcare providers must modernize their approach to patient access and financial clearance operations, according to Matt Bridge, senior vice president of AGS Health and the special guest during the next live edition of Talk Ten Tuesdays.

Bridge is expected to report on the pitfalls of using outdated patient access systems. He will reveal how inefficiencies and delays contribute to revenu...

Tired of tossing and turning?

You’re not alone. A Gallup poll released last Monday revealed that 57 percent of Americans said they would feel better if they could get more sleep.

And that is why ICD10monitor and Talk Ten Tuesdays invited Dr. Nick van Terheyden – to investigate our national sleep crisis.

During the next live edition of the long-running Internet broadcast, you’ll discover why we seem to be clocking in fewer Z’s. Dr. Nic...

Properly managed patient identity queues are the foundation of an effective master person index that minimizes issues and facilitates streamlined care coordination.

Conversely, unresolved identity queue backlogs can have costly implications for patient care, safety, and revenue integrity. It’s a growing problem with a time-consuming, resource-intensive resolution that few HIM departments have the capacity to handle.
During the n...

World Health Day will be observed on Sunday, April 7 but on Tuesday, April 9, 10 a.m. Eastern Time, Talk Ten Tuesday will recognize World Health Day with the special guest appearance of Lorraine Fernandes, immediate past president (2019-2022) of the International Federation of Health Information Management Association (IFHIMA). Today, Fernandes serves as the Communications Chair for IFHIMA.

During the next live broadcast of the popu...

The continued onslaught of cybersecurity attacks is only getting worse.

These attacks have impacted the healthcare system in dramatic fashion, starting with the Change Healthcare payment network being brought down.

Hopefully, everyone – including coders – will be more vigilant and wary of potential attacks and attempts to breach security. The constant development of new approaches and innovative tools means that i...

In a move towards greater specificity, the nation’s healthcare providers have a new ICD-10-CM code category: Code W44.

Having gone into effect October 2023, the new code category (foreign body entering into or through a natural orifice) is seen as enhancing specificity, although Code W45 had already existed for foreign bodies entering through the skin.

During the next live edition of Talk Ten Tuesdays, Gina Yacove...

On the horizon, looming like an ominous thunderhead, is ICD-11. But wait! There’s more: the expanding role of coding in big data, for example. The evolving healthcare IT, and how it will redefine the coding profession. All this and more is coming your way.

That’s why ICD10monitor and Talk Ten Tuesdays invited senior healthcare consultant Angela Comfort, assistant vice president of revenue integrity at Montefiore, to take you on an e...

Code G2211 continues to be a gift disguised as something else.

As many nuances surrounding the code continue to linger, there are still some areas that are not as clear-cut as many healthcare professionals would prefer.

As a refresher, G2211 allows providers (primary care, as well as specialists) to bill for additional cognitive work effort that is not currently captured in the evaluation and management (E&M) ...

How many hospital star ratings does your facility have?

Do you know? If you don’t, you’re not alone.

Apparently, many coders and clinical documentation integrity specialists (CDISs) don’t know. But you should know. That’s why ICD10monitor and Talk Ten Tuesdays have invited Michelle Wieczorek, a registered nurse (RN) and a CDI authority, to explain what the hospital star rating means and how coders and CDISs impact those stars. Wieczo...