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July 15, 2024 / By Charlene Beal, Sue Belley, RHIA, Alexis Ortiz
For many, August means summer BBQs, evening baseball and back-to-school shopping. For us, it means the Solventum Client Experience Summit (CES). Solventum CES brings together some of the brightest minds […]
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March 6, 2024 / By Sue Belley, RHIA, Nichole Soderquist, MBA, RHIA, CDIP, CCDS-O, CCS
As we embark on a new calendar year (CY), there are several new updates and guidelines we should examine that went into effect Jan. 1, 2024. Specifically, improvement efforts surrounding […]
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June 8, 2022 / By Sue Belley, RHIA, Audrey Howard, RHIA
Various ICD-10-CM/PCS and CPT® codes may be used to report hospital services for the diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19. Here are a few Q&As from our 3M experts Sue Belley […]
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Jan. 26, 2022 / By Sue Belley, RHIA, Audrey Howard, RHIA
Twenty-two months into this pandemic and we are starting to understand how all-encompassing COVID-19 is for the inpatient. Thus, when we realize that the inpatient medical record we are coding […]
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Nov. 29, 2021 / By Sue Belley, RHIA
The drug ivermectin became a household name during the pandemic when some falsely believed it could prevent or treat COVID-19. According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), current data […]
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March 10, 2021 / By Audrey Howard, RHIA, Sue Belley, RHIA
Since the start of the pandemic, health care professionals have focused on understanding acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) as a manifestation of COVID-19. Although ARDS was first clinically recognized in […]
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Aug. 3, 2020 / By Audrey Howard, RHIA, Beth Wolf, MD, Julie Salomon, BSN, RN, Sue Belley, RHIA
By now you are probably aware that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued 12 new ICD-10-PCS procedure codes on July 30 for treatment of patients with COVID-19, […]
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June 10, 2020 / By Sue Belley, RHIA
Update: On June 15, several days after this blog posted, the FDA revoked their Emergency Use Authorization for hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine for the treatment of COVID-19. The alert states, “Based […]
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Jan. 15, 2018 / By Sue Belley, RHIA, Donna Smith, RHIA
Donna: Sue, do you remember when we started our blog back in 2012? Didn’t the idea present itself at a conference we were attending? Sue: Yes, it did! We were […]
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July 24, 2017 / By Sue Belley, RHIA
A 62-year old female presented to the Emergency Department with a chief complaint of severe headaches that had been worsening in intensity/frequency over the past three weeks. The patient was […]
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June 30, 2017 / By Sue Belley, RHIA, Donna Smith, RHIA
Donna: Hi, Sue – I’ve been hearing that many hospitals are getting denials for records with sepsis coded as the diagnosis. Sue: Why are they getting denied for that? Donna: […]
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May 1, 2017 / By Donna Smith, RHIA, Sue Belley, RHIA
Donna: Hi, Sue! Do you ever see something on a problem list that isn’t correct? Sue: Yes, often! You know I always say, “The problem list is a problem.” Donna: […]
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April 3, 2017 / By Sue Belley, RHIA
Julia Palmer, project manager with the consulting services business of 3M Health Information Systems, is author of this month’s coding challenge blog. A mother brought her five-year-old daughter to the […]
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March 10, 2017 / By Sue Belley, RHIA, Donna Smith, RHIA
Donna: Eh Sue. What did you think of our experience in Canada reviewing charts for accurate coding? Sue: I would say that they have a similar challenge to ours in […]
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March 3, 2017 / By Sue Belley, RHIA
Julia Palmer, project manager with the consulting services business of 3M Health Information Systems, is author of this month’s coding challenge blog. CHALLENGE QUESTION Patient had a melanoma of the […]
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Jan. 30, 2017 / By Sue Belley, RHIA
Julia Palmer, project manager with the consulting services business of 3M Health Information Systems, is author of this month’s coding challenge blog. A patient with history of a stillbirth was […]
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Jan. 6, 2017 / By Sue Belley, RHIA
Julia Palmer, project manager with the consulting services business of 3M Health Information Systems, is author of this month’s coding challenge blog. Assign ICD-10 diagnosis code(s) and PCS procedure codes […]
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Dec. 22, 2016 / By Donna Smith, RHIA, Sue Belley, RHIA
Donna: Happy Holidays, Sue! In the spirit of the season, here’s a gift for you — some information about ICD-11 that I learned at the recent ICD-11 Revision Conference in […]
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Nov. 30, 2016 / By Sue Belley, RHIA
Julia Palmer, project manager with the consulting services business of 3M Health Information Systems, is author of this month’s coding challenge blog. CHALLENGE QUESTION A 10-year-old male with history of […]
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Nov. 11, 2016 / By Donna Smith, RHIA, Sue Belley, RHIA
Donna: Sue, do you know how many unspecified codes there are in ICD-10-CM? Sue: No, haven’t had time to count them! Why do you ask? Donna: Well, as you know, […]
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Oct. 31, 2016 / By Sue Belley, RHIA
A 47-year-old patient was admitted to the hospital with a chief complaint of an ulcer at the base of his left great toe. Patient has a history of diabetes mellitus, […]
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Oct. 7, 2016 / By Sue Belley, RHIA, Cheryl Manchenton, RN, Donna Smith, RHIA
Cheryl: Hey fellow bloggers, have you heard what people are saying about the new ICD-10-CM coding guideline 19? Sue: I’ve heard a few things. . . Donna: There’s certainly a […]
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Sept. 30, 2016 / By Sue Belley, RHIA
CHALLENGE QUESTION Epistaxis, or nasal bleeding, is a common occurrence and has been reported in up to 60 percent of the population. In many instances it is minor or self-limiting […]
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Aug. 31, 2016 / By Sue Belley, RHIA
CHALLENGE QUESTION I am sure many of you watched the games in Rio a few weeks ago. If so, you saw some amazing performances as well as some tumbles and […]
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Aug. 22, 2016 / By Sue Belley, RHIA, Donna Smith, RHIA
Donna: Hi Sue. Have you had a chance to read through the FY 2017 Final Rule since our last chat? Sue: I haven’t read all 2,434 pages if that’s what […]
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July 28, 2016 / By Sue Belley, RHIA
CHALLENGE QUESTION A 72-year-old male presented to the Same Day Surgery unit of a local hospital for an aortogram with bilateral lower extremity run-off to investigate the feasibility of an […]
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July 6, 2016 / By Donna Smith, RHIA, Sue Belley, RHIA
Donna: Hi, Sue – how was your 4th of July holiday weekend? Sue: Full of fireworks and time with my family. Hope yours was good as well! Donna: I had […]
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June 29, 2016 / By Sue Belley, RHIA
CHALLENGE QUESTION A 65 year-old male was admitted to the hospital with an acute myocardial infarction of left anterior descending coronary artery. The patient was in cardiogenic shock and an […]
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June 6, 2016 / By Donna Smith, RHIA, Sue Belley, RHIA
Donna: Hi, Sue! I saw you at the ACDIS conference last week. How were the sessions you attended? Sue: Really good – I liked the diversity and range of topics […]
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May 2, 2016 / By Sue Belley, RHIA
Sue Belley is back from 3M’s Client Experience Summit and catching up on her work. In the meantime, her colleague Julia Palmer, project manager with the consulting services business of […]
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April 20, 2016 / By Sue Belley, RHIA, Donna Smith, RHIA
Donna: Sue, have you been reading about the new definitions for sepsis and septic shock, and the new clinical guidance for physicians about diagnosing sepsis in their patients? Sue: Yes, I […]
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March 9, 2016 / By Sue Belley, RHIA, Donna Smith, RHIA
Donna: Sue, it has been way too long. What’ve you been up to? Sue: I’ve been auditing a lot of ICD-10 documentation and coding post go-live. Donna: Same here – […]
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Feb. 29, 2016 / By Sue Belley, RHIA
CHALLENGE QUESTION A 62-year old female presented to the Emergency Room with a chief complaint of chest pain. During workup, the patient was found to have non-sustained runs of ventricular […]
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Nov. 18, 2015 / By Sue Belley, RHIA
CHALLENGE QUESTION An outbreak of Legionnaire’s disease has plagued residents of the South Bronx area of New York City this summer. At least 12 people have died from the disease […]
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Oct. 26, 2015 / By Sue Belley, RHIA, Donna Smith, RHIA
Donna: Hey, Sue! We haven’t talked since AHIMA. Did you get back in time for ICD-10 go-live? Sue: Yes, I was in my office, bright and early on October 1. […]
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Sept. 18, 2015 / By Sue Belley, RHIA, Donna Smith, RHIA
Donna: Sue, can you believe it? We’re going live with ICD-10 in less than two weeks – this has to be the longest pregnancy in history! Sue: I know. You […]
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Aug. 19, 2015 / By Sue Belley, RHIA, Donna Smith, RHIA
Donna and Sue are joined this month by fellow 3M HIS blogger Jill Devrick. Donna: Hi Sue. How was the AHIMA-AHDI summit? Didn’t you give a presentation? Sue: The summit […]
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July 24, 2015 / By Sue Belley, RHIA, Donna Smith, RHIA
Donna: You know Sue, I think that people are really stepping up their ICD-10 game as we enter the home stretch. Sue: The way I look at it, they’ve been […]
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July 20, 2015 / By Sue Belley, RHIA
CHALLENGE QUESTION A 37-year old male with a long-standing history of the diagnosis of gender identity disorder is currently undergoing counseling and medical therapy in an effort to work toward […]
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June 19, 2015 / By Sue Belley, RHIA, Donna Smith, RHIA
Donna: Sue, what results are you hearing about ICD-10 coder agreement as sites get ready to implement October 1, 2015? Sue: What do you mean by “ICD-10 coder agreement?” Donna: Well, […]
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June 15, 2015 / By Sue Belley, RHIA
CHALLENGE QUESTION A 37-year old male was found unresponsive in a bedroom at his home by a family member. Paramedics arrived and found the patient pulseless and not breathing. The […]
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Jan. 21, 2015 / By Sue Belley, RHIA, Donna Smith, RHIA
Sue: Happy New Year, Donna! Did you enjoy the holidays? Donna: The holidays were wonderful, and you know I always feel reenergized in the new year! Sue: Me, too! Instead […]
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Jan. 14, 2015 / By Sue Belley, RHIA
CHALLENGE QUESTION: A 72 –year old male was admitted to the hospital with a chief complaint of a fever with a temperature of 101° F and feeling ill with worsening […]