Inpatient Psychiatric Facilities Impacted by Affordable Care Act, ICD-10

Section 1886(s)(4)(C) of the Social Security Act, amended by sections 3401(f) and 10322(a) of the Affordable Care Act requires IPFs to report quality data for 6 quality measures starting in fiscal 2013 for Medicare beneficiaries. Beginning in FY 2015, two quality measures are added. Why does this matter in the context of ICD-10? The quality measures will be based on diagnosis and procedures coded in ICD-10 beginning October 1, 2015.

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Drug Pricing Legislation and Inefficient Markets Theory

The inefficient markets theory is being reconsidered after the 2007 financial crisis in the U.S. Is it enough to provide the public with data on the cost of a service or alternative ways to purchase it? In healthcare the intersection of price, quality and sources of suppliers alone does not determine whether pricing is appropriate.

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Value Based Care Regulations Yield Physician Discontent, No Change in Behavior

Clinicians are in a knowledge management crisis – massive amounts of data but getting the right information to clinicians, IT personnel and others at the right time is the challenge. What was missing from the RAND report were biomedical informatics perspectives.

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CMS Will Not Deny ICD-10 Claims for Medicare Part B – Read Fine Print

Hospitals and the vendors of hospital based / inpatient systems do not get a reprieve and therefore still have the heaving lifting to do with ICD-10 CM, ICD-10 PCS procedure codes, and DRG based on the new coding system as mandatory requirements for compliance on October 1, 2015.

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Meaningful Use Audits, HIPAA Privacy and Security and Safeguards

The HITECH Act, which was enacted as part of ARRA, promotes the adoption and meaningful use of health information technology. Subtitle D of the HITECH Act addresses the privacy and security concerns associated with the electronic transmission of health information. While the HITECH Act mirrors HIPAA, it elaborates with specific requirements

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