www.ForTheRecordmag.com  |   Trouble viewing this e-mail? Go here.
In This Issue
Ask the Expert
Have a coding or transcription question? Get an expert answer by sending an e-mail to edit@gvpub.com.

This month’s selection:
According to pregnancy coding guidelines, if the condition being treated doesn't affect or isn't affected by the pregnancy, the physician must specifically document this information in the medical record. If the pregnancy does not seem to impact the visit but the provider does not state that in the documentation, can you code it as incidental? How do you code it?

Janice Randall-Payne, BS, CPC-I, CPC-H, CPC, CCS-P, PCS, CPAR
Navy Medicine East
Portsmouth, Virginia

Response:
Coding has to follow guidelines and include the required information in the documentation. If the provider does not document the information, it would be inappropriate to assume that the patient's pregnancy is incidental to the condition or treatment. You should go to the provider and ask him or her whether a causal relationship exists between the condition or treatment and the patient's pregnant state before applying a code.

— Shelly Cronin, CPC, CPMA, CANPC, CGSC, CGIC, is CEU vendor department manager for AAPC.
AlliedHealthCareers.com
A Secure, Anonymous Resume Bank
Job Alerts Sent to Your E-mail
Editor's E-Note
Branding is everywhere these days. For example, tune in to a baseball game—from Fill in the Blank Bank Field, no doubt—and you’re bound to hear the seventh-inning stretch associated with the work of the local chiropractor and pitching changes sponsored by the manufacturers of baby diapers.

Who wouldn’t want to be associated with the national pastime? The banking conglomerate, once viewed as impenetrable, is now seen as friendly, quaint, and old fashioned.

In an attempt to redo its image, medical transcriptionists have been rebranded as documentation specialists by a leading industry association. This month’s E-News Exclusive examines the ramifications of making such a move.

— Lee DeOrio, editor
E-News Exclusives
Medical Transcription: Rebranding the Profession
By Kathy Nicholls, CMT, AHDI-F

Enter the medical transcription profession and you will find yourself constantly reinventing yourself, updating your skills, and dealing with change. It’s the nature of the industry. Today, the rapid advancement of technology makes this even more true than it was 10 years ago.

In an effort to rebrand the profession, the National Leadership Board of the Association for Healthcare Documentation Integrity (AHDI) voted earlier this year to change the name of the profession from medical transcriptionist (MT) to healthcare documentation specialist. In part, the press release from Linda Brady, AHDI CEO, states:

“As our roles in healthcare documentation evolve and the range of services medical transcriptionists are able to offer broaden, a natural next step is to position ourselves for these changing roles. This can take shape in a variety of ways, and as your professional association, we are promoting a new umbrella title—healthcare documentation specialists—to help shift perceptions in the marketplace on the value, skills, and body of knowledge we bring to the table. In essence, we're encouraging a rebranding of the medical transcriptionist title to help shed any erroneous perceptions and to promote our vital role in preserving the integrity of healthcare documentation among hospital administrators, physicians, clinicians, EHR vendors, employers, and consumers.”

Full Story »
Recently in For The Record
Secrets to a Successful CAC Interface
Connect computer-assisted coding technology to other hospital systems and watch the technology’s value increase. Read more »

Charts on Alert
Solid documentation practices and careful planning can lessen stress levels when federal auditors come calling. Read more »

Intent on I-10 Implementation
By performing a gap analysis early on, hospitals will be able to determine the amount of work needed for the transition to ICD-10. Read more »

Patient Portals: A Window to Information
Test results, discharge instructions, and provider messages are examples of the types of data that can be exchanged through this Web-based tool. Read more »
Industry Insight
HIT Helps Alabama
Hand-Washing Initiative

Alabama Power is partnering with 27 hospitals across the state and Birmingham-based Proventix Systems, Inc to help reduce healthcare-associated infections, improve patient outcomes, and help push down health costs.

The Putting Power Into Healthcare Initiative focuses on increasing hand hygiene in hospitals, which studies show can help cut down on healthcare-associated infections. These infections can complicate a medical condition, extend the time a patient stays in the hospital, and boost the costs of healthcare and health insurance.

The hospitals involved in the project have installed Proventix's nGage System, which uses active communication units and radio-frequency badges tied to a data and compliance monitoring system. By using the system, hospitals can measure when and how often their badged employees and healthcare professionals wash their hands. Participating hospitals have installed the system in patient rooms and other places where patient care is provided.

Read more »
Gift Shop
For The Record's online gift shop features a wide variety of items for HIM professionals for any occasion. Whether you are searching for products to give friends or colleagues, hand out to clients, or wear yourself, finding the right gifts is easy and affordable at For The Record's online gift shop. Choose from t-shirts, journals, clocks, buttons, mouse pads, and much more! Check out our secure online shop today or call toll-free 877-809-1659 for easy and fast ordering.
Advertising Opportunities
For The Record offers many flexible advertising programs designed to maximize your results. From print advertising to e-newsletter sponsorships, website advertising to custom e-mail marketing, For The Record helps maximize your investment. E-mail our experienced account executives today for more information or call 800-278-4400!

AlliedHealthCareers.com is the premier online resource to recruit HIM professionals. Post your open positions, view resumes and showcase your facility's offerings all at AlliedHealthCareers.com!
For the Record is mobile for iPhone, iPad and Android users! Visit www.ForTheRecordmag.com/digital on your phone's browser to view the mobile version of this issue and bookmark us for future issues.

You will need Adobe Flash Player to view your digital issue. Go here for a free download.
Today's Diet & Nutrition
Other News
Can You Be Identified From Anonymous Data?
Being identified from anonymous data is not so simple according to an opinion piece in Tech.pinions.

UVa Settles $47 Million Suit With GE
The University of Virginia has reached a settlement with GE Healthcare following a long-running dispute, according to The Daily Progress.
Tech & Tools
iHealth Lab Inc Devices
iHealth Lab Inc has three new additions to its suite of devices: iHealth Smart GlucoMeter, iHealth Wireless Blood Pressure Monitor, and iHealth Wireless Body Fat Scale. The glucometer tests blood glucose levels by utilizing industry-standard test strips and an iHealth test strip reader that attaches to an iPod touch, iPhone, or iPad. Users can chart their historical blood glucose readings, manage their measurement records, create customized measurement plans and medication reminders, and share the results. The blood pressure monitor lets users test their blood pressure wirelessly by connecting their iOS device via Bluetooth technology to a soft blood pressure cuff. Users can view their blood pressure numbers, track them over time, and run reports; access historical data sets; view patterns by date and time of day; create graphs and charts; and share the results. The body fat scale reads and records vital body composition components such as weight, body fat, and muscle mass directly on an iPod touch, iPhone, or iPad. It automates user identification, so multiple users on multiple mobile devices can share a single scale. Users can track progress and organize records with graph tools, set target goals for weight management, and share one-time readings or long-term trends. These products will be available for purchase pending FDA approval. Learn more »

My Place History App
My Place History links public health information with the users’ environmental experience, providing a greater understanding of how their local environment can affect their health. Using US street addresses to create and maintain a personal place history, the app allows users to gather general information about their proximity to environmental hazards or exposures and helps them map their lifetime environmental exposures. It is available for iPhones and iPads from the Apple iTunes Store. Learn more »

LowestMed Mobile App
LowestMed mobile app allows consumers to compare prescription drug prices at drugstores in their local area since drug prices vary widely by pharmacy, even within a single city. When a user enters the medication name on the app, LowestMed provides a list of discounted prices at nearby pharmacies of both name-brand prescription drugs and their generic alternatives. The app will identify the store location with the lowest price and provide a GPS-enabled map to that store. It also includes access to the free LowestMed discount card, which can provide savings of 10% to 85% off retail prices. The app, available for iPhone or Android devices, includes more than 1,000 of the most popular brand-name and generic drugs (more than 95% of the most commonly prescribed drugs in the nation), with thousands of additional drug price comparisons available on the company’s website. Learn more »

SweetBeat iPhone App
SweetBeat helps users effectively manage fitness and stress and plan workouts based on vital signs rather than a canned workout schedule. Using a compatible heart rate monitor, SweetBeat measures the user’s heart rate variability. When a person’s stress rises, heart rate variability falls. It can detect overtraining and objectively measure the body’s response to each workout. Users can see their heart rate variability levels in real time, enabling them to manage stress or vary their workouts. When a user’s stress rises above the user-determined threshold, a “relax” screen appears with a breath pacer. Simply by breathing deeply and regularly, users can balance their system, returning to a more relaxed state. The iPhone app is available from the Apple iTunes Store. Learn more »
HFMA Conference News
Healthcare Financial Management Association ANI Recap
By Lori Brocato

A collective sigh of relief was palpable at the recent Healthcare Financial Management Association ANI convention when the Supreme Court delayed its ruling on the Affordable Care Act. I believe the entire mood of the conference would have been swayed had an announcement been made on opening day as expected. With no announcement to cloud conversations or thwart speakers, conference attendees focused squarely on the most important tasks at hand: maintaining financial viability in a rapidly changing healthcare industry. And at the top of their list was ICD-10.

Read more »