Medical Industry Articles
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by Find-A-Code™
The transition from ICD-9 to ICD-10 wasn't expected to be easy. Healthcare providers and medical coders expected bumps in the road. But nearly a decade after ICD-10's release in the U.S., it still faces significant challenges. For example, the majority of rheumatology codes included in ICD-10 still aren't being used.
by Find-A-Code™
Newly certified medical coders just getting their feet wet may not think a lot about HIPAA. It is easy to assume that the relationship between the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and medical codes is a casual one. But a quick perusal of the CMS Code Sets Overview tells another story. The relationship is not casual at all.
May 14th, 2024
ICD-10 Influenza Diagnosis Accuracy Questioned by New Study
by Find-A-Code™
Medical coders are tasked with the job of translating clinical text into alpha-numeric codes that describe medical events. Medical billers then use those codes to prepare claims before submitting them to insurance companies. It would seem that something like influenza, as common as it is, would be easy enough to correctly code. But how accurate are actual diagnoses?
by Find-A-Code™
Young people taking a long look at compensation before deciding on a career is normal. Even people who have been in the workforce for many years consider compensation before looking for a new job or jumping careers. It is expected. Given our industry, this leads us to wonder how medical coders and billers fare compared to other careers.
by Find-A-Code™
When a health insurance company receives claims from a medical provider, those claims are checked both electronically and with human eyes to make sure they are accurate and legitimate. But sometimes inaccurate or fraudulent claims slip through. An example are claims filed under what is known as phantom billing.
by Find-A-Code™
There has been a lot of talk about generative AI and its potential to replace human medical coders over the last 12 months or so. We have done our best to alleviate any fears among our readers. Now we can point to scientific research demonstrating that generative AI just isn't up to the task.
Apr 15th, 2024
How Automation Could Address the Medical Coder Shortage
by Find-A-Code™
As artificial intelligence (AI) continues to make inroads in virtually every industry, there is legitimate concern over what it will mean to jobs that have historically been labor intensive. Concerns over AI implementation have certainly been raised in medical coding. Right now, the biggest AI influence is automation.
by Find-A-Code™
Bias is a fascinating thing. It is present in all decisions human beings make. Unfortunately, bias is impossible to avoid one hundred percent of the time because the human brain is always influenced by external forces. Even in medical billing, bias is an issue that could probably stand to get a bit more attention.
Apr 4th, 2024
Beware of 4-Week Medical Billing and Coding Courses
by Find-A-Code™
Medical coding and billing are two healthcare careers that do not require much, if any, patient-facing work. In addition, there are no legal requirements for certification. Yet most employers want their medical coders and billers to be minimally certified by an accrediting entity. That leads us to the main topic of this post: 4-week medical billing and coding courses.
Apr 2nd, 2024
Are You Familiar with Current Dental Terminology Codes?
by Find-A-Code™
Medical coding and billing specialists tend to be intimately familiar with CPT codes. They need to be. But what about CDT codes? If you don't do a lot of dental work as a medical coder or biller, you probably aren't familiar with this particular code set. Yet it is just as important as the CPT and ICD-10 sets.
by Find-A-Code™
The American Medical Association (AMA) published an announcement in mid-January discussing some minor changes to the Common Procedural Terminology (CPT) Category III Long Descriptor document. For us, the bulletin served as a reminder that often obscure, category III codes are still important.
Mar 20th, 2024
Major Healthcare IT Attack Proves Nothing Is Perfect
by Find-A-Code™
If you haven't heard the news by now, you should probably know that a substantial ransomware attack against one of the nation's leading healthcare IT providers has created a whole lot of headaches for hospitals, clinics, doctor's offices, and even patients. The attack is further evidence that nothing is perfect. Not even the most secure networks are 100% impervious to hacking.
by Find-A-Code™
Healthcare providers rely on a variety of medical billing code sets to document patient interactions for payment. Accordingly, clinicians need to account for the time they spend on individual cases for Evaluation and Management Services (E/M) under the Common Procedural Terminology (CPT) code set. A few years ago, a new total time metric was introduced for this very purpose.
Mar 12th, 2024
How Consumer-Friendly Terms Could Help Billers and Coders
by Find-A-Code™
The 2024 edition of the American Medical Association's (AMA) CPT code set includes some significant changes, among them being some 349 editorial changes. The new code set went into effect on January 1 of this year. Interestingly, the code set also includes consumer-friendly terms that could ultimately help billers and coders.
by Find-A-Code™
Every year the American Medical Association (AMA) releases an updated version of their Common Procedural Terminology (CPT) code set. If you are a medical coder or biller, you know just how prominent the CPT code set is. But how is it maintained and updated? Who determines what gets added, what gets dropped, and so forth?
by Find-A-Code™
Although medical billing is subject to quite a bit of generalization across the entire healthcare spectrum, different billing environments call for different requirements. Take the ambulatory surgery center (ASC). It is a very different environment compared to a GP's office.
by Find-A-Code™
Here at Find-A-Code, we will be the first once to recommend online medical code lookup for coders and billers of all skill levels. But that begs the question of whether our users still need printed materials. The answer to that question is really a matter of personal preference. There are both pros and cons to online and traditional printed code lookup.
Feb 16th, 2024
How AI Could Help Address the Shortage of Medical Coders
by Find-A-Code™
There is no denying that artificial intelligence (AI) is gradually making its way into medical coding and billing. AI's entrance into just about every aspect of technology is inevitable. As far as medical coding is concerned, it will never fully replace human coders. But there is one particular benefit the industry is beginning to come to grips with: AI could help address the shortage of medical coders.
by Find-A-Code™
As the largest and most recognized education and credentialing entity for medical coders and billers, the AAPC sets the standard for training and certification. Did you know they offer separate certifications for medical coders looking to work in hospitals? Indeed, they have certifications for both inpatient and outpatient coding.
by Find-A-Code™
Medical coders and billers work together to ensure that healthcare providers are paid for their services. Coders translate clinician notes into medical codes using typical code sets like CPT and ICD-10. Meanwhile, medical billers take the work coders do and transform it into bills that are subsequently sent to payers. But there is one more spoke in the wheel, so to speak: claim denials management.
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innoviHealth Systems, Inc.62 East 300 North
Spanish Fork, UT 84660
Phone: 801-770-4203 (8-5 Mountain)
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