News & Events
IP Only List 2011
Effective 01-01-2011. The following procedures were deleted from the inpatient only list for 2011.
CMS Releases OPPS Final Rule for 2011
The CMS 2011 OPPS final rule was released on November 2, 2010. CMS has made several changes to physician supervision requirements for hospital outpatient services. Most hospitals will welcome the new changes which generally provide some relief to the strict physician supervision requirements for small rural hospitals and critical access hospitals. These changes will be effective January 1, 2011.
Physician Supervision for Outpatient Therapeutic Services
CMS Will Not Enforce Supervision Requirements for Outpatient Therapeutic Services in Critical Access and Small Rural Hospitals for CY 2010-2011.
Are You Preparing for ICD-10? ACS Can Help!
ICD-9 code sets, used in the U.S. since 1979 to codify diseases across all health-care settings as well as inpatient procedures, will be replaced with a new ICD-10 coding system on October 1, 2013.
Analysis of CMS FY11 Final Rules
It is clear from the FY11 IPPS final rule that CMS expects hospitals to do more with less reimbursement. The market-basket increase was more than offset by a 2.9% documentation and coding adjustment, leaving overall financial impact projections at a $311,000,000 decrease for FY11. This can place even greater emphasis on compliant and effective clinical documentation integrity programs as hospitals strive to receive all of the reimbursement to which they are legally entitled.
Revised Official Guidelines for ICD-9-CM
Revised official guidelines for ICD-9-CM are now available!
V-Codes Matter!
V-codes have long been considered step-children, supplemental codes that are typically relegated to the end of the list of ICD-9-CM codes. Since Medicare has only processed the top nine (9) diagnosis codes, even when all of the pertinent V-codes are assigned, they are frequently omitted from the MedPAR data because of their place in line.
CPHIMA Preparing for 2011 Coding Priorities
Central Pennsylvania Health Information Management Association
Quarterly Education Session
September 17, 2010
Lancaster, PA
Speaker: Deborah Hale, CCS, CCDS, President of ACS
Proactive Strategies for Managing Inpatient MS-DRG RAC Targets (including new information on the 72-hour rule)
Crowne Plaza, Little Rock
Friday, August 20, 2010
Instructors: Susan Wallace, MEd, RHIA, CCS, CCDS and Helen Whitledge, RHIT, CCS, CCDS
"Meaningful Use" Defined
This week, CMS and ONC jointly announce their final rules for both electronic health record standards for certification and the Medicare and Medicaid EHR incentive programs, including the long-awaited definition of meaningful use.
Proctive Strategies for Managing Inpatient MS-DRG RAC Targets
Friday, August 20, 2010 - Target Audience: RAC Coordinators, HIM and Coding Supervisors, Clinical Documentation Specialists, Inpatient Coders, and Compliance Officers
HHS Launches New Consumer Focused Health Care Website
A Powerful New Information Tool That Will Give Consumers More Control Over Their Own Health Care and Allow Them to Compare Their Coverage Option.
ICD10 News Update from CMS
CMS just released MLN Matters SE1019 on ICD-10 Implementation Information. Access with this link: http://www.cms.gov/MLNMattersArticles/downloads/SE1019.pdf
Audio Conference - Mastering Inpatient and Observation Level of Care Challenges
Join Deborah Hale on June 24, 2010 to learn how to Master Inpatient and Observation Level of Care Challenges in Today's Increasing Audit Environment.
Case Management Along the Continuum Conference
Speaker: Deborah Hale, CCS, CCDS, President of ACS
Topics: Managing Observation Services and Reimbursement Updates for 2011.
OPPS 3rd Quarter 2010 Transmittal Updates
The 3rd Quarter 2010 OPPS Transmittals have been posted to the CMS website.
Affordable Care Act – Provisions Impacting Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) Hospitals
On March 23, 2010, President Obama signed into law the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Section 3401(i) of the ACA imposes a 0.25 percentage point reduction to the OPPS market basket for Calendar Year (CY) 2010, effective for services furnished on or after January 1, 2010.
Welcome to our New Website!
New Website released May 27, 2010.
FY2011 IPPS Proposed Rule
CMS released the proposed rule for FY2011 IPPS payment updates
on Monday, April 19th.
Excisional vs. Non-Excisional Debridement
Incorrectly reported debridement procedures are prime targets for recoupment under RAC reviews.