by Kristi Pollard | Jul 7, 2026 | Coding Resources
I’ve been training coders for over 25 years, and it’s impossible to say how many times I’ve told coders to “trust the Index” when it comes to ICD-10-CM coding. I have even told coders that if they like shopping, this isn’t the coding system for them because we can’t...
by Kristi Pollard | Feb 20, 2025 | All Posts, Coding Resources
Although the public health emergency (PHE) for COVID-19 ended on May 11, 2023, we continue to see updates to the COVID-19 guidelines to align us with the post pandemic environment. The first wave of guideline updates came in October 2023 (see our blog titled Coding...
by Kristi Pollard | Feb 20, 2025 | All Posts, Coding Resources
On April 1, 2025, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is introducing 50 new codes, deleting 12 codes, and revising 2 code titles. It’s been several years since we’ve seen changes to obstetrical codes, but for this update, there are two to note. Code...
by Kristi Pollard | Feb 5, 2024 | All Posts, Coding Resources
Time is a critical factor when treating stroke and returning the patient to his/her neurological baseline. The BEFAST mnemonic (Balance, Eyes Face, Arm, Speech, Time) is a useful tool to help quickly identify stroke symptoms and know when to seek emergent medical...
by Keith Olenik | Dec 12, 2023 | Coding Resources, Health Information
The field of medical coding has long been regarded as a critical component of healthcare, ensuring that patient data is accurately recorded and categorized. Anyone who sits in the coder role often wonders if they are really valued and often struggles to communicate...
by Jennifer Cayce | Nov 22, 2023 | All Posts, Coding Resources
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...
