Post By: Adam Turteltaub

The complexities of healthcare coding can be daunting, and they are all the more so now during the public health emergency.

To help clear things up are Bryan Beaudoin, Associate Director – Health Information Solution Lead at Protiviti and Kathy DeVault, Manager, HIM Consulting at USAI. In this podcast they explain:

* As the Public Health Emergency continues clinical documentation and coding audit functions face an evolving list of compliance risks and limited resources to address these risks going into 2022.

* Although governmental enforcement agencies had briefly relented in enforcement activities during the onset of the pandemic, they have resumed enforcement activities moving into 2022.

* Key audit topics include: COVID-19 clinical documentation coding and billing, telehealth coding and billing, Evaluation and Management (E/M) selection, and documentation and coding of conditions determined by clinical indicators, such as Sepsis, Acute Renal Failure and Malnutrition.

* Prominent clinical documentation and coding audit risks in 2022 and tactics clinical documentation and coding audit functions can employ to more effectively audit target risk areas and collaborate with hospital stakeholders.

They also provide some good news: leadership is paying more attention to coding and clinical documentation because now they are more focused on quality data.

Listen in to learn more about how to manage coding in this fast-changing era.