Coding the Deadly COVID
Christine Geiger, MA, RHIA, CCS, CRC
November 25, 2024
While it is not in the news on a daily basis any longer, COVID has not gone away. Since the start of the pandemic, we
The nation’s largest healthcare conference has been canceled amid the growing threat.
The deadly coronavirus (COVID-19) has resulted in the cancellation of HIMSS20, the 2020 healthcare IT conference initially scheduled to take place next Monday in Florida, according to an announcement on the association’s website.
“Following reports from the WHO (World Health Organization) and the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), it is clearly necessary to cancel HIMSS20,” read the announcement, which has been posted on the HIMSS website.
By most accounts, the HIMSS 2020 Global Health Conference and Exhibition is considered to be the largest of healthcare conferences annually staged across the U.S. More than 45,000 were expected to attend the annual conference, which had been scheduled to continue through March 13.
“This will be the first time in 58 years the event has been canceled,” HIMSS said in a news release posted on its website. “But it is now clear that cancellation is unavoidable in order to meet HIMSS’ obligation to protect the health and safety of the global HIMSS community, employees, and local residents, as well as for the healthcare providers tasked with keeping our U.S. and global communities healthy.”
Former Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) official Stanley Nachimson, now an IT consultant and a longtime HIMSS attendee, told ICD10monitor that he had not been planning to attend HIMSS this year regardless, due to virus concerns.
“Given that this is an international healthcare conference, it was the prudent thing to do,” Nachimson said. “Many vendors had already cancelled, and I am sure there were many folks who were reluctant to travel and be at a conference with 40,000 attendees. I had already decided not to attend, even though the conference was a short drive away for me. This really shows how interconnected today’s world is, but also shows how quickly information (and viruses) spread!”
Today’s announcement by HIMSS comes just as the WHO had raised the global risk level from “high” to “very high,” as countries around the world scramble to respond to the influx of new coronavirus cases beyond China.
In the meantime, officials today ordered a cruise ship with approximately 3,500 passengers to remain off the California coast until the crew and passengers can be tested for the virus. On Wednesday, California Gov. Gavin Newsome declared a state of emergency over the virus, clearing the way for the state to receive federal aid, following the death of a man in Northern California’s Placer County.
This is a developing story. RACmonitor and ICD10monitor will continue to report on the deadly virus.
While it is not in the news on a daily basis any longer, COVID has not gone away. Since the start of the pandemic, we
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has released a report on the Acute Hospital Care at Home (AHCAH) initiative, a program allowing select
Please log in to your account to comment on this article.
Master the complexities of heart failure coding with this expert-led webcast by Emily Montemayor, CCS, CMBCS, COC, CPC, CPMA. Discover strategies to ensure compliance with ICD-10-CM guidelines, documentation integrity, and capture comorbidities like CKD and hypertension. Learn how to resolve coding challenges, improve documentation practices, and submit clean claims to minimize denials and safeguard your organization’s financial health. With practical insights and real-world examples, this session equips you to prevent revenue leakage, enhance compliance, and secure optimal reimbursement—all while supporting better patient outcomes.
Prepare your organization for the 2025 OPPS updates with expert insights from Tiffani Bouchard, CCS, CRCR, a Revenue Integrity Professional with over 30 years of experience. This webcast will address critical challenges in charge capture and coding, providing clarity on APC policies, C-APC packaging, exclusions, and payer-specific requirements. Attendees will learn actionable strategies to ensure compliance, optimize reimbursement, and mitigate risks of claim denials. Gain the knowledge needed to implement updates effectively, educate your team, and maintain seamless revenue cycle operations in the face of evolving OPPS complexities.
Join Beth Wolf, MD, CPC, CCDS, for an in-depth webcast on the FY2025 spinal fusion MS-DRG updates. Discover key changes in DRG classification, understand impacts on documentation and CMI, and learn strategies to ensure compliance.
Join Angela Comfort, DBA, MBA, RHIA, CDIP, CCS, CCS-P, as she presents effective strategies to strengthen collaboration between CDI, coding, and quality departments in acute care hospitals. Angela will also share guidance on implementing cross-departmental meetings, using shared KPIs, and engaging leadership to foster a culture of collaboration. Attendees will gain actionable tools to optimize documentation accuracy, elevate quality metrics, and drive a unified approach to healthcare goals, ultimately enhancing both patient outcomes and organizational performance.
Dr. Ronald Hirsch dives into the basics of Medicare for clinicians to be successful as utilization review professionals. He’ll break down what Medicare does and doesn’t pay for, what services it provides and how hospitals get paid for providing those services – including both inpatient and outpatient. Learn how claims are prepared and how much patients must pay for their care. By attending our webcast, you will gain a new understanding of these issues and be better equipped to talk to patients, to their medical staff, and to their administrative team.
Hospitals face growing challenges in measuring observation metrics due to inconsistencies in classification, payer policies, and benchmarking practices. Join Tiffany Ferguson, LMSW, CMAC, ACM, and Anuja Mohla, DO, FACP, MBA, ACPA-C, CHCQM-PHYADV as they provide critical insights into refining observation metrics. This webcast will address key issues affecting observation data integrity and offer strategies for improving consistency in reporting. You will learn how to define meaningful metrics, clarify commonly misinterpreted terms, and apply best practices for benchmarking, and gain actionable strategies to enhance observation data reliability, mitigate financial risk, and drive better decision-making.
The 2025 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule brings significant changes to payment rates, coverage, and coding for physician services, impacting practices nationwide. Join Stanley Nachimson, MS., as he provides a comprehensive guide to understanding these updates, offering actionable insights on new Medicare-covered services, revised coding rules, and payment policies effective January 1. Learn how to adapt your practices to maintain compliance, maximize reimbursement, and plan for revenue in 2025. Whether you’re a physician, coder, or financial staff member, this session equips you with the tools to navigate Medicare’s evolving requirements confidently and efficiently.
Dr. Ronald Hirsch provides critical details on the new Medicare Appeal Process for Status Changes for patients whose status changes during their hospital stay. He also delves into other scenarios of hospital patients receiving custodial care or medically unnecessary services where patient notifications may be needed along with the processes necessary to ensure compliance with state and federal guidance.
Copyright © 2025 ICD10monitor. Powered by MedLearn Media.
Get 15% OFF on all educational webcasts at ICD10monitor with code JULYFOURTH24 until July 4, 2024—start learning today!
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 →
CYBER WEEK IS HERE! Don’t miss your chance to get 20% off now until Dec. 2 with code CYBER24
