Conversations about the social determinants of health (SDoH), along with health and mental health disparities, have escalated amid COVID and simultaneously occurring violence.
Elimination of institutional racism has become an ever-present theme across the healthcare industry. The concept has been longstanding through history, although now it is a high priority for every organization.
Conversations about the social determinants of health (SDoH), along with health and mental health disparities, have escalated amid COVID and simultaneously occurring violence. Last year’s reporting about racial bias in medical care decision-making algorithms has yielded major actions and initiatives by healthcare associations and organizations. The third wave of the coronavirus is further decimating disparate communities and their populations. The highest percentages of patients infected continue to be Black and Latinx populations, with the tally as high as 35-40 percent of some communities.
Recent reporting focused on the impact of COVID transmission within an ethnically and racially diverse healthcare workforce has indicated that:
On this related note, the American Heart Association (AHA) issued a presidential advisory last week that appears on its website. The advisory cites institutional racism as a cause of premature death from cardiovascular disease. The statement was clear, noting that “the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic and police killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and multiple others, have been reminders that structural racism persists and restricts the opportunities for long, healthy lives of Black Americans and other historically disenfranchised groups.”
The advisory reviews the historical context, current state, and potential solutions to address structural racism in the U.S, cites antiracist principles for review, and suggests strategic actions:
The actions taken by the AHA make it clear that strategic action needs to happen sooner rather than later; they benefit the healthcare workforce and populations to which that workforce renders care.
Concern about the occupational health and safety of essential workers remains a major theme. To that end, this week’s Monitor Mondays survey checked in with our listeners about the current availability of PPE at healthcare organizations around the country. The results may surprise you and appear here.
As the federal government shutdown drags into its fifth week, the collapse of key safety-net supports such as nutrition benefits, health-insurance subsidies, and the disruption
Among the many responsibilities of hospital case managers, none is more critical or more impactful than the initial discharge planning evaluation. Often referred to as
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Accurately determining the principal diagnosis is critical for compliant billing, appropriate reimbursement, and valid quality reporting — yet it remains one of the most subjective and error-prone areas in inpatient coding. In this expert-led session, Cheryl Ericson, RN, MS, CCDS, CDIP, demystifies the complexities of principal diagnosis assignment, bridging the gap between coding rules and clinical reality. Learn how to strengthen your organization’s coding accuracy, reduce denials, and ensure your documentation supports true medical necessity.
Denials continue to delay reimbursement, increase administrative burden, and threaten financial stability across healthcare organizations. This essential webcast tackles the root causes—rising payer scrutiny, fragmented workflows, inconsistent documentation, and underused analytics—and offers proven, data-driven strategies to prevent and overturn denials. Attendees will gain practical tools to strengthen documentation and coding accuracy, engage clinicians effectively, and leverage predictive analytics and AI to identify risks before they impact revenue. Through real-world case examples and actionable guidance, this session empowers coding, CDI, and revenue cycle professionals to shift from reactive appeals to proactive denial prevention and revenue protection.
Sepsis remains one of the most frequently denied and contested diagnoses, creating costly revenue loss and compliance risks. In this webcast, Angela Comfort, DBA, MBA, RHIA, CDIP, CCS, CCS-P, provides practical, real-world strategies to align documentation with coding guidelines, reconcile Sepsis-2 and Sepsis-3 definitions, and apply compliant queries. You’ll learn how to identify and address documentation gaps, strengthen provider engagement, and defend diagnoses against payer scrutiny—equipping you to protect reimbursement, improve SOI/ROM capture, and reduce audit vulnerability in this high-risk area.
Only ICD10monitor delivers what you need: updates on must-know changes associated with the FY26 IPPS, including new ICD-10-CM/PCS codes, CCs/MCCs, and MS-DRGs, plus insights, analysis and answers to your questions from two of the country’s most respected subject matter experts.
Get clear, practical answers to Medicare’s most confusing regulations. Join Dr. Ronald Hirsch as he breaks down real-world compliance challenges and shares guidance your team can apply right away.
Federal auditors are zeroing in on Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility (IRF) and hospital rehab unit services, with OIG and CERT audits leading to millions in penalties—often due to documentation and administrative errors, not quality of care. Join compliance expert Michael Calahan, PA, MBA, to learn the five clinical “pillars” of IRF-PPS admissions, key documentation requirements, and real-life case lessons to help protect your revenue.
During this essential RACmonitor webcast Michael Calahan, PA, MBA Certified Compliance Officer, will clarify the rules, dispel common misconceptions, and equip you with practical strategies to code, document, and bill high-risk split/shared, incident-to & critical care E/M services with confidence. Don’t let audit risks or revenue losses catch your organization off guard — learn exactly what federal auditors are looking for and how to ensure your documentation and reporting stand up to scrutiny.
Learn how to navigate the proposed elimination of the Inpatient-Only list. Gain strategies to assess admission status, avoid denials, protect compliance, and address impacts across Medicare and non-Medicare payors. Essential insights for hospitals.
Happy National Doctor’s Day! Learn how to get a complimentary webcast on ‘Decoding Social Admissions’ as a token of our heartfelt appreciation! Click here to learn more →
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