Foreign bodies (FBs) entering through one of the three ENT-specific pathways is a relatively common occurrence. While these situations are found primarily with children presenting for service, FBs of the ear, nose, and throat don’t necessarily discriminate when it comes to age. However, when it comes to coding, there are a few general rules to follow regardless of circumstance:

Emergency departments across the United States charge adult patients 340% more than what Medicare pays for services, but minorities and the uninsured receive the biggest bills, according to new research from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

A three-year study on a large mid-Atlantic hospital found that the laboratory department was hit the hardest during downtime, with patient identification as the largest challenge.

With the help of hindsight and data, we can now more accurately predict coding productivity and staffing needs. The run-up to ICD-10 had most of us very concerned, expecting to experience a decline in productivity of as much as 40 percent or more.

The final updated ICD-10-CM codes for 2018, posted on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) website, contain 360 new, 142 deleted, and 226 revised diagnosis codes, according to a report from HealthLeaders Media. The revisions include 322 more changes...