Blog & Publications
Find the latest news from the Haugen Consulting Group. Check back frequently for updates.
CMS Risk Adjustment Model changes from Version 24 to Version 28 in 2024
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced the updates to the Risk Adjustment model for 2024 and there are some big changes coming. The transition from the previous version (V24) to the new version (V28) includes changes to the hierarchical...
Coding for COVID Testing in a Post Pandemic World
The public health emergency ended on May 11, 2023, and the COVID screening guideline was updated in October, but here we are: still getting questions about coding for COVID testing. The last three and a half years have been anything but normal and COVID reigned...
Haugen Best Practice: Clinically Significant Secondary Diagnoses
Haugen Consulting Group has received questions regarding the 2024 update to the ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines for Coding and Reporting. This change added the terminology “clinically significant” in relation to reportable secondary diagnoses. In response to those...
Alleviate the Anxiety of Coding 7th Characters for Injuries
There’s a reason you’ll find so many TV shows out there based on emergency medicine. Where else will you find dramatic life-and-death situations peppered with humor all found in the same place – the Emergency Department (ED)? The ED is a place where providers are...
What’s Up in October?
It may be August, but all you need to do is browse through any retail store to know that fall, October, and Halloween are quickly approaching. But before you worry about which costume you’re going to rock for Halloween this year, it’s time to check out the ICD-10-CM...
Using the Guidelines to Guide Your Biopsy Coding
Choosing the correct biopsy code can be a difficult task. Even determining whether a procedure is actually a biopsy at all can be a challenge. If you have seen your fair share of integumentary procedure notes, you know that getting to the correct code can be tough. We...
Renovating Your Release of Information Program
Publication: For the Record
In the United States, 14 states and the District of Columbia currently allow individuals to choose a third gender option—specifically, the nonbinary gender marker X—on state-issued birth certificates. The nonbinary designation includes “any person who does not identify with a gender that falls within the traditional male/female or man/woman category” as well as intersex individuals. Hear from CEO, Mary Beth Haugen, on this situation and the discrepancies that it is causing for patient matching. | Read More.
Investing in Health Information Education: Assess and Reassess for Success
Publication: Journal of AHIMA
Mary Beth Haugen, MS, RHIA published in the Journal of AHIMA – Investing in Health Information Education: Assess and Reassess for Success.| Read More.
Be Prepared for Coding Changes
Publication: For the Record
The best defense against problems resulting from code changes is preparation. Follow these steps to ensure that your coding team members are educated about the latest guidelines and understand code changes! | Read More.
Information Blocking – What Health Information Professionals Need to Know
Information Blocking – What Health Information Professionals Need to Know Date: October 5, 2022October 6th, 2022, is the next milestone of the 21st Century Cures Act – when health care providers must provide expedient access to all electronic health information (EHI)...