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ICD-10-CM and PDPM ICD-10 Mapping: What’s new for Fiscal Year 2024?

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) reviews and updates ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines for Coding and Reporting on an annual basis to ensure accurate and consistent coding practices. These guidelines are applicable starting from October 1, 2023, and ending on September 30, 2024. The update includes the addition, revision, and deletion of diagnosis codes as well as updates to diagnosis coding guidance. The Patient-Driven Payment Model (PDPM) implemented on October 1, 2019, has been…

What is the Right Level of Care?

Every day there seems to be yet another alternative to level of care for people seeking assistance with healthcare and other essential living needs. While it may be confusing, the wide berth of available services is necessary for people to receive the most appropriate level of care. Let’s look at the services most widely used in healthcare today.  Hospitals Of course this level is self-explanatory. If a patient has an acute (having severe symptoms and…

F-Tags in Review: F-Tag 944 Quality Assurance and Performance Improvement (QAPI)

As providers of care and services in long-term care, we are all familiar with the Quality Assurance and Performance Improvement (QAPI) process for skilled nursing facilities. Initially, this quality improvement process required having the senior members of the facility management team meet at least quarterly to discuss resident incidents and accidents, any infectious disease management needed for either the residents or the staff, review of pharmacy issues, etc. However, beginning November 28, 2019, this process…