ICD-10 Ushers in “New” Concepts Good Day of Training! Last week, in this space, we talked about the importance of training for the billing office. We made the point that the billing office is vital to the success and “health” of your EMS agency and as such training is vital not only maintaining a consistent […]
Change! New and Refreshing? Change. The dictionary defines the word as “the act or instance of making or becoming something different” or “an alteration or modification.” Another definition defines change as being “a new or refreshingly different experience.” So if change is new and refreshing, a modification implying that the modification is for the better, […]
It’s Finally Here! It seems like forever ago… It seems like forever ago we began talking about this thing called ICD-10. Delay after delay, extension after extension and here we are. Thursday is the day the American healthcare industry has long been anticipating. ICD-10 is finally here! Boil it all down Boil it all down, […]
Introducing the “Z” Codes Fast Approaching! ICD-10 is fast approaching! Come October 1st the healthcare industry begins to use the new diagnosis coding regimen and with that transition the ambulance billing industry will face a new set of rules and billing guidelines to follow including the “Z” codes. Reasons for Encounters… The “Z” codes denote […]
Documenting Emergent Scenarios Post October 1 Focus If you’re a regular reader of this space you are aware that we focus A LOT on medical necessity, especially as the definitions contained in the rules pertain to Medicare. With anywhere from 40% to 60% or upward of the average ambulance reimbursements being derived from Medicare Fee-for-Service […]
ICD-10 Behind the Scenes The stuff you don’t see… In previous blog posts we talked a lot about the new ICD-10 diagnosis code conversation set to take place on October 1st, primarily focusing on the things we see- namely documentation and the interpretation of the Patient Care Report documentation in the billing office that turns […]
ICD-10- How Will It Change EMS Documentation? Part II Welcome to Part II of our two-part series! Last week we talked about the overall changes that ICD-10 will usher in come October 1st and we focused on the detail and specifics needed in Patient Care Reports in order to provide enough information for your billing […]
ICD-10- How will it change EMS Documentation? 117 Days and Counting! Change is coming. Today is exactly 117 days away from the October 1st implementation of the ICD-10 diagnosis codes. ICD stands for the International Classification of Diseases. Today, our industry uses Version 9 of the code set to report conditions when we submit claims for […]
Difficulty Breathing in an ICD-10 World Like a Brick We took the time to actually pick up and carry the “ICD-10 Book” the other day. This thing is like a brick. The book could anchor a small boat! ICD-10 is the new version of the International Classification of Diseases. This is a system of codes […]
One Last Look at Ambulance Billing in 2014- What’s Next? You Deserve a Break! We’re going to make this our last blog post for 2014. You deserve a break! But before we sign-off to celebrate the season, we thought we’d take a moment to reflect on the year that’s been just one last time. Let’s […]
