February is American Heart Month – CMS Provides Resources for the Healthcare Community

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services along with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offer programs to help prevent heart disease.

According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), “heart disease can often be prevented by identifying risk factors and making healthy lifestyle choices.”

“Help your Medicare patients reduce their risk,” the agency suggests. “Recommend appropriate preventive services, including cardiovascular disease screening tests and intensive behavioral therapy for cardiovascular disease.”

CMS is promoting awareness of heart disease through three programs this February and these include the following:

1. Preventive ServicesEducational Tool
2. Million Hearts®: Resources to help educate, motivate, and monitor your patients
3. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Heart Disease website

Medicare covers a full range of preventive services to help keep beneficiaries healthy and help find problems early, when treatment is most effective. Beneficiaries should always ask their doctor which of these services is right for them:

• One time “Welcome to Medicare” Preventive Visit, within the first 12 months you have Medicare Part B (medical insurance)
• Yearly “Wellness” Visit: get this visit 12 months after your “Welcome to Medicare” preventive visit or 12 months after your Part B effective date
• Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Screening
• Alcohol Misuse Screening and Counseling
• Bone Mass Measurement (Bone Density Test)
• Cardiovascular Disease (Behavioral Therapy)
• Cardiovascular Screenings (cholesterol, lipids, triglycerides)
• Colorectal Cancer Screening
• Depression Screening
• Diabetes Screening
• Diabetes Self-management Training
• Flu Shot
• Glaucoma Test
• Hepatitis B Shot
• Hepatitis C Screening
• HIV Screening
• Lung Cancer Screening
• Mammogram (screening for breast cancer)
• Medical Nutrition Therapy Services
• Obesity Screening and Counseling
• Pap Test and Pelvic Exam (includes a breast exam)
• Pneumococcal Shots
• Prostate Cancer Screening
• Sexually Transmitted Infection Screening and Counseling
• Smoking and Tobacco Use Cessation

You can obtain this checklist online at: https://www.medicare.gov/Pubs/pdf/11420-Preventive-Services-Card.pdf.

There is also a wealth of information on CMS preventive services at: https://www.cms.gov/Medicare/Prevention/PrevntionGenInfo/medicare-preventive-services/MPS-QuickReferenceChart-1.html.

Under the CMS cardiovascular disease screening tests, the following information can be found:

HCPCS/CPT Codes:

80061 – Lipid panel: this panel must include the following:

• 82465– Cholesterol, serum, total
• 83718– Lipoprotein, direct measurement, high-density cholesterol (HDL cholesterol)
• 84478– Triglycerides

ICD-10-CM Code:  Z13.6 Encounter for Screening for Cardiovascular Disorders

 The Million Hearts® is a sponsored program by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that is promoted by CMS. It has a goal to save one million lives in five years through increased awareness, education, tools, and data. The CMS key messages under “Million Hearts” are to take control of your heart health and to:

• Find time to be active.Aim for at least 150 minutes of physical activity  per week. Invite fitness buddies on an afternoon stroll, try an exercise class, or challenge the whole family to a soccer match.

• Make healthy eating a habit.Small changes in your eating habits can make a big difference. Try making healthier versions of your favorite recipes. How? Look for ways to lower sodium and trans fat, and add more fruits and vegetables.

• Quit tobacco, for good. Smoking cigarettes and using other tobacco products affects nearly every organ in your body, including your heart. Quitting can be tough, but it can be easier when you feel supported. Call 1-800-QUIT-NOW (1-800-784-8669) today or start with Tips from Former Smokers.^®

• Know your numbers. High blood pressureand high cholesterol  are major risk factors for heart disease. Ask your healthcare team to check your blood pressure and blood cholesterol levels regularly and help you take steps to control your levels.

• Stick to the ’script.Taking your medications can be tough, especially if you feel fine. But sticking with your medication routine is important for managing and controlling conditions that could put your heart at risk. A video  offers tips to help you take medicines at the right time and in the prescribed amount.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has a dedicated website regarding heart disease. The CDC notes that in the United States, the most common type of heart disease is coronary artery disease or CAD, which can lead to heart attack (myocardial infarction). One can greatly reduce your risk for CAD through lifestyle changes and, in some cases, medication.

Some interesting heart disease facts published by the CDC include the following:

• About 610,000 peopledie of heart disease in the United States every year; that’s 1 in every 4 deaths.
• Heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women. More than halfof the deaths due to heart disease in 2009 were men.
• Coronary heart disease(CHD) is the most common type of heart disease, killing over 370,000 people annually.
• Every year about 735,000 Americanshave a heart attack. Of these, 525,000 are a first heart attack and 210,000 happen in people who have already had a heart attack.

Also, at this CDC Heart Disease website you can find the following areas:

• Learn About Heart Disease
• Heart Disease Risk Factors
• Preventing Heart Disease: What You Can Do
• Heart Disease Statistics and Maps
• Educational Material on Heart Disease
• Journal Articles on Heart Disease
• Heart Disease Quiz

Visit the following to access this information and more at: https://www.cdc.gov/heartdisease/

Let’s not forget from a clinical coding perspective that heart disease in ICD-10-CM is located in Chapter 9, representing Diseases of the Circulatory System (I00-I99). There are specific codes for the type of myocardial infarction, and for 2018, new codes were added.

I’m impressed with all the great heart disease information, tools and resources offered to our healthcare community. Let’s take advantage of these and take heart!