The Comprehensive CDI Report

Published: Thu, 04/10/25

Updated: Thu, 04/10/25

Link to all things medical coding & billing

The Comprehensive CDI Report

As the healthcare industry changes, there needs to be a shift from a growth perspective to an efficiency perspective. Most hospitals had their highest case mix index (CMI) during COVID, but most also had negative margins. What COVID confirmed is that CMI is not a great measure, because a hospital can have a very high CMI and still be losing money. It is far...

Taking the Pain out of Pain Coding – Part I

Continuing with our look at areas of coding confusion, let’s today examine pain. According to Medline Plus Magazine from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), pain is the most common reason people seek medical care. We all have felt some type of pain. Let’s look to the Official Guidelines, as we always do when we experience confusion or want more information.

When Discharge Orders No Longer Signify Patient Discharge

As with many other physicians of a certain age, I have had the opportunity to practice patient care in both the worlds of paper and electronic charting.

Granted, as a pediatric hospitalist working in a busy, near-tertiary care center with little (purposeful) exposure to utilization management or clinical documentation integrity, my focus then on how...

What a medical coder looks for in an AI platform

Dawson Ballard, a coding auditor and educator for Chicago-based Rush University Medical Center who has more than 20 years experience in the profession, sees artificial intelligence coding platforms as beneficial. “It’s not foolproof, but it can certainly increase productivity,” he told Becker’s. Going the way of AI is a reality for health systems, but it is...

Looking Ahead: 2025 Medicare Auditing: Key Changes and Trends

The Medicare and Medicaid provider auditing process is about to get a makeover in 2025. I am talking about artificial intelligence (AI), which may be more accurate than our auditors, pre-2025. The Medicare provider auditing process has evolved significantly in recent years, and several key trends are expected to shape the landscape in 2025. These changes are...

Coding Challenge: Understanding Underdosing

While underdosing is no longer a new concept in coding it remains a common area of confusion. Underdosing is when a patient takes less of a medication than is prescribed. Our underdosing codes are found at Z91.1, Patient’s noncompliance with medical treatment and regimen. That makes sense since that is exactly what we are assigning...

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