by Haugen Academy | Oct 5, 2022 | All Posts
Information Blocking – What Health Information Professionals Need to Know Date: October 5, 2022 October 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)...
by Deanna Upston | Oct 1, 2022 | Uncategorized
October is breast cancer awareness month! Breast cancer is a disease in which cells in the breast grow out of control. The kind of breast cancer depends on which cells in the breast turn into cancer. Breast cancer can occur in any of the three main areas of the...
by Kristi Pollard | Sep 21, 2022 | Webinar Q&As
Q: Can you summarize how MS-DRG grouper logic works?A: The first step in grouping an MS-DRG is the assign the case to a major diagnostic category (MDC). This is done by classifying the principal diagnosis into one of 25 MDCs based on body system and case similarity....
by Kristi Pollard | Sep 13, 2022 | Webinar Q&As
Q: What is the difference between biliary drainage using an ERCP approach and percutaneous biliary drainage?A: When a biliary stent is placed in the biliary tree for drainage using an ERCP approach, a scope is inserted into the mouth and through the esophagus,...
by Kristi Pollard | Sep 6, 2022 | Uncategorized
The liver, gallbladder, and pancreas play important roles in digestion through the release of bile and digestive enzymes. The ductwork that connects these organs to each other and ultimately to the alimentary canal of the gastrointestinal tract, is often a mysterious...
by Kristi Pollard | Aug 25, 2022 | Webinar Q&As
Q: Does acute/chronic respiratory acidosis really code as acute/chronic respiratory failure? Can a code for respiratory acidosis be reported with the respiratory failure codes?A: Yes, that is how it is indexed in ICD-10-CM. There is an Exclude2 note for code E87.29,...
by Kristi Pollard | Aug 25, 2022 | Webinar Q&As
Q: When should the new qualifier M for Monoclonal Antibody in the 3E0 table be used? Can it be used to report cancer or COVID MAB therapy?A: The qualifier M for Monoclonal Antibody is only available when the 6th character substance value C, Other Therapeutic...
by Kristi Pollard | Aug 3, 2022 | Uncategorized
We all have those codes that we’ve memorized – the ones that we assign on autopilot when we read certain documentation. For many coders, that code is Z79.899, Other long term (current) drug therapy. It is the catchall code when the patient is or has taken a medication...
by Kristi Pollard | Jul 21, 2022 | Webinar Q&As
Q: How do you code for a through and through lip laceration when the mucosa, subcutaneous tissue, and skin are all repaired? Can you report code 40650 with a code for the skin repair?A: Assign only code 40650 for repair of a through and through lip laceration. This...
by Shea Lunt | Jul 20, 2022 | Uncategorized
Haugen Academy’s Guide to the 2023 E/M Changes Shea Lunt, RHIA, CPC, CPMA, PMP Consultant Shea is a consultant for The Haugen Consulting Group with 11 years of health care industry experience. Shea has experience working on the professional fee side of coding,...
by Terri Reid | Jun 29, 2022 | Uncategorized
Last year’s wound care webinars dove into the proper coding of wound care and offered several resources. We received so many fantastic follow-up questions that we felt it would be best to share and elaborate on them in another webinar. Questions surrounding...
by Kristi Pollard | Jun 15, 2022 | Webinar Q&As
Q: Can you code “mild” valve conditions from an echocardiogram report? A: Before assigning a code for a valvular condition, regardless of the documented severity, the coder should determine if the condition meets the definition of an additional diagnosis as outlined...
by Kristi Pollard | Jun 6, 2022 | Uncategorized
Have you ever wondered about the default codes guideline for ICD-10-CM? Guideline I.A.18. states: A code listed next to a main term in the ICD-10-CM Alphabetic Index is referred to as a default code. The default code represents that condition that is most commonly...
by Kristi Pollard | May 18, 2022 | Webinar Q&As
Q: What is the difference between the proximal humerus and proximal shaft of humerus? Which part of the humerus should be coded? A: Proximal shaft means the upper end of the shaft, but not quite to the proximal end of the bone. A fracture of the proximal shaft is...
by Mary Bort | May 18, 2022 | Uncategorized, Webinar Q&As
Q: A physician performed a fusion at the first tarsometatarsal joint and an open reduction with internal fixation of the second TMT joint. Can I report both 28740 and 28615?A: Yes, it would be appropriate to report both codes. They are being done at separate sites....
by Mary Bort | Apr 26, 2022 | Uncategorized
For many years I struggled coding foot and ankle procedures. I would ask myself: “Is this tendon a flexor or is it an extensor?” “Hmm... what does it do?” “Is this a ligament or is this a tendon?” Of course, back then we didn’t have internet and had to utilize...