Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare August is National Immunization Awareness Month (NIAM). This annual observance highlights the efforts of all healthcare professionals to protect patients of all ages against vaccine-preventable diseases through on-time vaccination. The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted all aspects of life, including patients’ ability to attend important appointments and receive routine…… Continue reading August is National Immunization Awareness Month

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare Birthdays and anniversaries are big events for me; history is also important.  There are two (2) historical anniversaries this week that need mention. On July 30, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed into law legislation that established the Medicare and Medicaid. For 56 years since, these…… Continue reading 56th Anniversary of Medicare and Medicaid and ADA Anniversary

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare The FY 2022 ICD-10-CM Coding Guidelines, FY 2022 Conversion Table and FY 2022 Code Tables, Tabular and Index files, which contain information on the ICD-10-CM updates for FY 2022, are available in the Downloads section on the CMS website at: https://www.cms.gov/medicare/icd-10/2022-icd-10-cm. All diagnosis code files are…… Continue reading FY 2022 ICD-10-CM Code Files

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare On Friday, July 16, 2021, MedPAC announced the release of its 2021 data book on health care spending and the Medicare program. The publication provides data on Medicare spending, demographics of the Medicare population, beneficiaries’ access to care, and quality of care in the program, among…… Continue reading MedPAC Releases 2021 Data Book on Health Care Spending and Medicare Program

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare CMS is providing notifications to facilities that were determined to be out of compliance with Quality Reporting Program (QRP) requirements for CY 2020, which will affect their FY 2022 Annual Payment Update (APU). Non-compliance notifications are being distributed by the Medicare Administrative Contractors (MACs) and were…… Continue reading QRP Non-Compliance Letters for FY 2022 APU: SNFs and Hospice Providers

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDP        Clinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare (On July 15, 2021), as part of the ongoing response, agencies across the U.S. government announced new resources and initiatives to protect American businesses and communities from ransomware attacks. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), together with federal…… Continue reading U.S. Government Launches First One-Stop Ransomware Resource New Website Provides Cybersecurity Resources from Across the Federal Government

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare The FY 2022 ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines  for Coding and Reporting were posted July 12, 2021. “The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), two departments within the U.S. Federal Government’s Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) provide…… Continue reading ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines for Coding and Reporting FY 2022 Posted

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare CDC has posted an update with addenda to the FY2022 ICD-10-CM codes.  These 2022 ICD-10-CM codes are to be used from October 1, 2021 through September 30, 2022. Note: This replaces the FY 2021 – January release. These files listed below represent the FY 2022 ICD-10-CM. The…… Continue reading 2022 Release of ICD-10-CM with Update/Addenda

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare The 2022 ICD-10-CM codes are to be used from October 1, 2021 through September 30, 2022. Note: This replaces the FY 2021 – January release. These files listed below represent the FY 2022 ICD-10-CM. The FY 2022 ICD-10-CM is available in both PDF (Adobe) and XML file…… Continue reading 2022 Release of ICD-10-CM

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare CMS has revised QSO-20-41-ALL (same title as this blog) as of June 21, 2021.   CMS notes the Memorandum (11 pages in length) was revised to provide additional guidance and clarifications due to the continued public health emergency (PHE). “CMS recognizes many facilities are still operating under…… Continue reading Guidance Related to Emergency Preparedness- Exercise Exemption Based on a Facility’s Activation of Their Emergency Plan