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2 Min Read

Halloween ICD-10 codes help prep for scary season

Be prepared for the spookiest season of the year. With ICD-10 implementation coming Oct. 1 of next year, here are the ICD-10 diagnosis codes you may need for Halloween.

Claims Processing
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1 Min Read

Get the how-to guide for ICD-10 documentation

Learn how to navigate the new documentation complexities for diagnosis codes in the ICD-10-CM code set. An updated publication from the AMA Store provides guidance just in time to prepare for the Oct. 1, 2015, ICD-10 implementation deadline.

Claims Processing
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4 Min Read

Regulatory penalties tsunami could cut doctors' pay by 13 percent

The AMA urged the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to streamline the competing laws and regulations that threaten access to care in a letter. Physicians providing care to Medicare patients could face a “tsunami” of regulatory penalties over the next 10 years, potentially seeing payments cut by more than 13 percent by the end of the decade.

Sustainability
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3 Min Read

Better blood pressure, no added burden: One practice's story

A Chicago-area physician has achieved a 90 percent control rate for his hypertension patients in the past year by working with his medical assistant, nurse and other staff members to execute standardized blood pressure protocols in the practice.

Prevention & Wellness
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4 Min Read

4 key changes needed for EHR meaningful use program

Challenges with electronic health record (EHR) systems are widespread, and the meaningful use program has only compounded those problems. Physicians this week called on the government to make four essential changes to meaningful use so EHR technology can become a tool for practice efficiency and enhanced patient care.

Medicare & Medicaid
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1 Min Read

Interactive, on-demand training helps prepare for ICD-10

Get help transitioning from the ICD-9 to ICD-10 code sets with interactive training that fits with your schedule. The 3M™ ICD-10 Education Program: Physician Practice Package provides Web-based training delivered in the specific context needed for different job functions and matches trainees to the appropriate education track.

Claims Processing
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3 Min Read

CMS reopens period to apply for meaningful use hardship exemption

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced it would reopen the submission period for hardship exception applications in the electronic health record (EHR) meaningful use program, allowing more physicians to avoid next year’s payment adjustments for not demonstrating meaningful use.

Medicare & Medicaid
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1 Min Read

Coding cards can help prepare for ICD-10

Physicians have one year to comply with implementation of the ICD-10 code set. Get ready with new coding cards from the AMA Store. ICD-10-CM 2015 Snapshot Coding Cards: Multiple Specialties provide the most commonly reported diagnostic codes and associated guidelines for a specialty, including the specificity required to improve documentation.

Claims Processing
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1 Min Read

Doctors advocate for SGR repeal during lame duck session

Members of Congress received house calls from physician leaders last month urging their U.S. senators and representatives to make repealing Medicare’s sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula a priority for the lame duck session.

Medicare & Medicaid