Ask the Expert

Q: I am told if I elect to work from home, I will not be allowed to print any medical records. My home office is secure and I have a shredder. Would printing medical records violate HIPAA, or is this too restrictive?

How can we define the role of the nonlicensed case manager extender within our interdisciplinary team?

We found out after an observation patient was discharged that one of the procedures performed was an inpatient-only procedure. Can we bill this to Medicare without an official inpatient order on the medical record?

Q: Our facility does not retain written queries in the medical record, but I’ve heard that other hospitals do. Is this something we should consider?  

Q: What is the minimum necessary information that needs to be provided to people regarding HIPAA for public health screening environments?

Q: We keep hearing about the readmission metric – what does this metric refer to? 

Our experts answer questions about diagnostic service coverage in hospitals, coding multi-part procedures, and more.

Q: What's a tool my staff can use to measure patient activation?

What are some examples of extenuating circumstances that could be modified with an -XU modifier (unusual nonoverlapping service) if none of the other -X modifiers are applicable?

I have heard of a modifier -GD in relation to the Medically Unlikely Edits. What is the definition of this modifier and how is it used?