• What are the government's chief points of interest when it examines the activities of health care providers?
• What should your organization do to ensure it can stand up to the scrutiny of government investigators?

• Focus on codes not discussed in other specialty-specific sessions
• Provide an overview and explanation of added, changed, and deleted codes
• Prepare the coder to implement the code changes

In its FY2010 final rule, Medicare "gave back" almost $3 billion for inpatient hospital care. But, don't gamble away that money just yet. Medicare's final inpatient rule for 2010 seems fairly benign, but it actually contains changes that will have profound impact in the next few years. Where Medicare leads, other payers are sure to follow. In this session, you will learn about major new initiatives that will affect all hospitals, including:

• Coding under severity DRGs, and the "hidden" impact of the delayed coding adjustment
• Current and upcoming changes to MS-DRGs and the DRG weights
• Some surprising changes to the Medicare Code Edits
• Continued roll-out of programs around Hospital Acquired Conditions and "never events"
• Other inpatient changes that will affect operations and reimbursement
• Bundled payments, readmissions, value based purchasing , and reform initiatives - what to expect in the near future

In this highly interactive and informative session, attendees will perform hands-on dissection of chicken parts to better understand the anatomy of the lower extremities. Whether you are a new coder or an experienced one, and no matter your specialty, you’ll walk away with a thorough understanding of:

• The structures and functioning of the lower extremities
• A foundation for coding lower extremity conditions and procedures

In October, the WHO published the 2010 update for ICD-10-PCS. Ms. D'Amato will discuss:

• New, revised, deleted codes
• ICD-10-PCS Index changes
• New files, which may include:
  • MDC 6 of MS-DRGs Definitions converted to ICD-10 codes
  • ICD-10 Reimbursement Mappings
  • PCS Final Addenda for 2009
  • ICD-10-PCS Body Part Key
• Updated files, which may include:
  • ICD-10-PCS to ICD-9-CM General Equivalence Mapping (GEM)
  • ICD-9-CM to ICD-10-PCS GEM
  • ICD-9-CM to ICD-10-PCS GEM Documentation and User’s Guide

• What are the government's chief points of interest when it examines the activities of health care providers?
• What should your organization do to ensure it can stand up to the scrutiny of government investigators?

Increase your clinical coding skills by understanding how the changes to
ICD-9-CM diagnosis codes will affect your coding practices. This in-depth presentation will give you details concerning the practical application of the new and revised diagnosis codes and coding instruction. Make sure you understand the impact on your coding practices and your bottom line.

This session will focus on:

• The rationale for the new and revised diagnosis codes
• How changes in the instructional notes will affect coding
• What everyone needs to know about using the new diagnosis codes correctly
• An overview of official coding guideline changes

In this session, we will explore updates to HCPCS Level II codes for 2010. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) requires these codes for Medicare and all third-party payers for reporting and reimbursement of supplies, drugs, and some professional services.

Attendees will:

• Learn about new HCPCS codes and their regulatory changes and associated policies
• Be introduced to reimbursement policies applicable to the new codes
• Learn about the 2009 RBRVS and CMS mandates from the November Federal Register

There is a wealth of coding and billing education available in the marketplace. Some of it is great, some is mediocre, and some is—let’s be honest—just painful.

This roundtable is an opportunity for you to share your ideas for what works and doesn’t work in the area of coding and billing education. Facilitated by adult education professionals, attendees will participate in discussion and evaluation of various types of education, review various existing educational offerings, and have a voice in crafting Ingenix’s next generation of coding and billing education.

• New procedure codes, the documentation required for assignment, and each code’s effect on DRG assignment
• Movement of procedure codes among DRGs, the impact on reimbursement, and how to assess the total facility impact, particularly for high-volume procedures
• Clinical background for each new procedure code, including what coders should expect to see in physician documentation and specific strategies to differentiate between similar services
• New and revised procedure codes that may be considered “non-OR procedures” and may be performed in areas other than the operating room but that affect DRG reimbursement

• Risk adjustment—Part C Medicare
• Medical home demonstration—Part B Medicare
• Medicaid adoption of risk adjustment methodology in 16+ states
• ICD-9-CM in support of CPT^® codes; role in value-driven health care and outcome analysis

• CMS Recovery Audit Contract Program history, objectives, financial outcomes, and plans for national implementation
• The inner workings of the RAC Program
• Targeted and historically problematic coding, documentation, billing, and charging issues
• Rationale for and importance of proactive RAC strategies

You are now accustomed to the fact that ICD-10 will soon be a reality and, maybe, you've started to make some implementation progress. This session is unlike any other ICD-10-CM educational training---it will take you beyond what you may have learned so far.

Points covered include:

• Benefits of ICD-10
• Overview of the new classification
• Specificity benefits---examples and practical application
• Correct mapping

• Focus on codes not discussed in other specialty-specific sessions
• Provide an overview and explanation of added, changed, and deleted codes
• Prepare the coder to implement the code changes

• The rationale for the new and revised diagnosis codes
• How changes in the instructional notes will affect coding
• What everyone needs to know about using the new diagnosis codes correctly
• An overview of official coding guideline changes

Two professionals, an RHIA/coder who is a documentation improvement specialist, and a physician who is a certified professional coder, discuss the clinical clarification process related to their areas of expertise. This cannot-miss presentation will focus on providing education and insight for CDI professionals that supports a successful, compliant, and credible physician query process. The session will include:

• Leading versus non-leading queries
• Clinical credibility tips and advice
• Clarifying coding specificity
• Improving documentation for quality measures

The United States' stimulus package includes a total of $147.7 billion. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) is now a reality, including more than $30 billion for health care-related spending. Part of this spending package will drive 90% of physicians to adopt certified electronic health records within the next 10 years, transforming workflow and the roles of coders and billers. Knowing how to use these new initiatives to your advantage has the potential to transform your practice and your career.

Knowledge Is Power. Join expert Sheri Poe Bernard, CPC, CPC-H, CPC-P, for this 90-minute look at how you can optimize the benefits of ARRA in your practice. Sheri will give you guidance on EMR adoption and tips on how to make the most of these changes for your practice and your career.

You'll learn how to:

• Assemble the right team to select the EMR that is right for your practice
• Re-purpose personnel to enhance charge capture
• Survive the transition as EMRs rewrite the blueprint for workflow
• Understand how EMRs will facilitate PQRI and other P4P initiatives
• Use EMRs to help with ICD-10 implementation
• Enhance your career by discovering how this evolutionary step could change everything for health information management in health care
• Still have questions? Get answers from the speaker during an interactive Q&A.

Colposcopy is one of the best tools available to physicians who need to evaluate potentially cancerous areas, inflammation or infectious changes, and injuries to the cervix, vagina, and vulva. Codes were created in 2003 to report colposcopy of the vulva, vagina and cervix, but still payers are denying these tests, especially when reported in conjunction with evaluation and management services. This session will review the details that will enable timely reimbursement and will include discussion of:

• Standard protocols for performing colposcopy
• Expected documentation for the procedure
• When E/M services are appropriate to bill
• Utilizing diagnostic links to ensure medical necessity is demonstrated
• Coding for multiple colposcopic procedures
• When and how to report the various colposcopic options for biopsy and excisions

In this session, attendees will observe a demonstration of a new series of courses available from the Ingenix Clinical Assessment Solutions group. These online, self-paced courses are designed to teach learners the requirements for documenting and coding for risk, with immediate, on-the-job applicability. These highly-interactive courses, based on real-life scenarios, will showcase the possibility of presenting online coding education in a meaningful and memorable manner.

What do you want your coworkers to remember most about your compliance program and how do you reach ALL of them with that message? This is an interactive session to discuss the different opportunities available to get your Compliance Message out there in any size of facility and/or budget. Attendees will gain the following from this session:

• Online compliance education ideas
• Examples of promotional items to get the message out
• How to measure the effectiveness of your education

The multitude of changes within the outpatient revenue cycle continues to be a daunting task for facilities to keep up with. Layers of complexity and rapid changes have come to characterize all outpatient reimbursement mechanisms.

The legal and financial ramifications created by improper coding, disconnects in systems with regard to the Chargemaster, and poor documentation of medical/surgical services is the responsibility of everyone involved in the Outpatient Revenue Cycle. In order to achieve Revenue Integrity™ on the submission of claims, it is critical that ALL providers understand the multiple levels of complexity involved with each step in the charge capture, coding, and billing cycle.

Health Information Management professionals have an opportunity to redefine the application and integrity of outpatient data. Join us for an exciting session focused exclusively on the IDEAL method of achieving Revenue Integrity™:

• Improve Coding Accuracy
• Develop Documentation Improvement Program
• Evaluate Systems and Tools
• Audit Claims = Compliance Program
• Lower DNFB and Denials

 As architects your tools will include:

1. Improvement—Discussion of pertinent outpatient coding issues to include reference material, education and training, credentialed coders, identification of appropriate candidates, productivity and accuracy standards along with incentive programs, cross-training versus specialty coding, and much more!
2. Development—Documentation improvement is a win-win for all involved in the outpatient revenue cycle. Address problematic operative reports, outpatient requisitions, and clinicians' documentation with next-step improvements.
3. Evaluate—Technology assists with a majority of outpatient revenue cycle facets to include productivity, ICD-9-CM diagnosis and CPT^® procedure code assignments, references, APC grouping logic, and claims scrubbers.
4. Audit—Internal coding monitors and external audit functions are essential for a compliance program. Learn from the expert – tips to audit internally and what determines a complete external audit to satisfy finance, HIM, and compliance. 
5. Lower—Revenue cycle improvements are the top concern among CFOs and HIM professionals. Review the primary causes that cause a revenue cycle to stifle or slow to a standstill. Expert offers advice on how to reduce hospital receivables and improve the revenue cycle.

Attend this session and learn how ICD-10 conversion will affect your organization and its bottom line. Factors will be discussed to assist you in the transition and recommendations for the ICD-9-CM conversion will be highlighted to help you eliminate any pitfalls and better ensure a smooth transition.

This session is designed to be a high-level, interactive session regarding the implementation of ICD-10. While the Final Rule has been issued with an implementation date of October 1, 2013, there are still many tasks to be accomplished. This session will get you started on which tasks you need to focus on, who should be on the "team," what is the strategy for the implementation, and what are the post-implementation tasks. While learning to code using the new code sets will be important, this session will not be focused on coding, but on project management and design.

This session is designed for payers, physician practices, hospitals, long-term care hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, and any other health care organization. Take a roll of the dice and join us!

Objectives:

1. Develop an initial organizational plan for the ICD-10 transition
2. Identify key areas to focus on
3. Learn the format and the importance of ICD-10