It is October already; do you know where your medical records are in the coding process?? Thanksgiving is only 29 days away, Christmas is 60 days away, my birthday is 81 days away and the FINAL SWEEP for 2015 DOS is ONLY 97 DAYS AWAY! It is time to take a serious look at the coding completion rates for the 2015 date of services that need to be retrieved and coded.
Every year there is a final push to submit as many Final Sweep Diagnoses as possible. Blood pressures rise, tempers flare and prescription pill usage massively increases. Take the necessary steps now to ensure everyone has a nice holiday season:
1. Review your list of medical records that needed to be reviewed.
2. Review the completion rates for retrieval and coding.
3. Establish a REASONABLE timeline for the completion of the reviews.
4. Remember to review the timetable with everyone involved in the process.
5. Is one vendor cranking out the charts while another one is barely meeting deadlines; time to move charts amongst your vendors?
6. Is it time to start moving in house charts to vendors or vice versa?
7. Schedule weekly meetings and review the data with your coders and/or vendors and show the progression of the work or the delays in the completion of the charts.
8. Hold everyone responsible! Excuses are a dime a dozen!!
DON’T forget about the deletions that need to be sent to CMS for unfounded submitted diagnoses.