COVID-19 is still a pandemic for the unvaccinated.
We may be done with COVID, but it’s not done with us. No surprise, but there’s a new variant in town.
Omicron BA.2, otherwise known as “stealth Omicron,” is the genetic offspring of Omicron. This new variant has led to a spike in cases in Europe, is disrupting China’s zero-COVID strategy, and is now the cause of COVID in ~40 percent of cases in the northeastern United States. And BA.2 isn’t the only Omicron offspring here.
Wasn’t the pandemic supposed to be over? How could this be happening now? Easy. First, COVID-19 public health measures have been relaxed or eliminated. Second, the protectiveness of the vaccines (and previous COVID infections) continues to wane over time. And third, this variant appears to be even more transmissible than the highly contagious original Omicron variant that caused a massive outbreak in cases in December and January.
Am I concerned? No, and yes. I’m not concerned for any American who is fully vaccinated and boosted. Although BA.2 is super contagious, it doesn’t appear to result in increased hospitalizations and deaths in that group. Case in point: former President Obama and 95-year-old Queen Elizabeth both recently tested positive for COVID without experiencing significant illness.
I am concerned about the relatively low vaccination rates in the United States, when compared with other developed countries around the world. Sixty-five percent of Americans are fully vaccinated. The booster rate is only 29 percent. Neither are good enough.
COVID-19 is still a pandemic for the unvaccinated. The data is clear. The unvaccinated comprise the vast majority of hospitalizations and COVID deaths. We tend to forget that nearly a thousand Americans still die daily from this infectious disease – numbers that would be markedly reduced with improved vaccination rates. It’s almost inconceivable that we will surpass one million COVID deaths in April. Have we become numb to this daily carnage?
These are some of the questions I’m getting from my vaccinated patients:
COVID-19 will become endemic, meaning it will never completely go away. As I’ve stated recently, just like with the flu, annual booster shots may become a reality.
My recommendations are as follows:
Do not fear BA.2. COVID-19 isn’t going to go away, but we can end the pandemic for everyone if we can improve our vaccination rates.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has released a report on the Acute Hospital Care at Home (AHCAH) initiative, a program allowing select
Today I am going to focus on a new ICD-10-CM code, as of Oct. 1: Z51.A, Encounter for sepsis aftercare. We think about sepsis mortality
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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.
Optimize your outpatient clinical documentation and gain comprehensive knowledge from foundational practices to advanced technologies, ensuring improved patient care and organizational and financial success. This webcast bundle provides a holistic approach to outpatient CDI, empowering you to implement best practices from the ground up and leverage advanced strategies for superior results. You will gain actionable insights to improve documentation quality, patient care, compliance, and financial outcomes.
Enhancing outpatient clinical documentation is crucial for maintaining accuracy, compliance, and proper reimbursement in today’s complex healthcare environment. This webcast, presented by industry expert Angela Comfort, DBA, RHIA, CDIP, CCS, CCS-P, will provide you with actionable strategies to tackle complex challenges in outpatient documentation. You’ll learn how to craft detailed clinical narratives, utilize advanced EHR features, and implement accurate risk adjustment and HCC coding. The session also covers essential regulatory updates to keep your documentation practices compliant. Join us to gain the tools you need to improve documentation quality, support better patient care, and ensure financial integrity.
This webcast, presented by Angela Comfort, DBA, RHIA, CDIP, CCS, CCS-P, a recognized expert with over 30 years of experience, offers essential strategies to improve outpatient clinical documentation integrity. You will learn how to enhance the accuracy and completeness of patient records by adopting best practices in coding and incorporating Social Determinants of Health (SDOH). The session also highlights the role of technology, such as EHRs and CDI software, in improving documentation quality. By attending, you will gain practical insights into ensuring precise and compliant documentation, supporting patient care, and optimizing reimbursement. This webcast is crucial for those looking to address documentation gaps and elevate their coding practices.
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.
Healthcare organizations face complex regulatory requirements under the No Surprises Act and Price Transparency rules. These policies mandate extensive fee disclosures across settings, and confusion is widespread—many hospitals remain unaware they must post every contracted rate. Non-compliance could lead to costly penalties, financial loss, and legal risks. Join David M. Glaser Esq. as he shows you how to navigate these regulations effectively.
Protect your facility from unwanted audits! Join Becky Jacobsen, BSN, RN, MBS, CCS-P, CPC, CPEDC, CBCS, CEMC, and take a deep dive into both the CMS and AMA guidelines for reporting post operative pain blocks. You’ll learn how to determine if the nerve block is separately codable with real life examples for better understanding. Becky will also cover how to evaluate whether documentation supports medical necessity, offer recommendations for stronger documentation practices, and provide guidance on educating providers about documentation requirements. She’ll include a discussion of appropriate modifier and diagnosis coding assignment so that you can be confident that your billing of post operative pain blocks is fully supported and compliant.
During this RACmonitor webcast Dr. Ronald Hirsch spotlights the areas of the OIG’s Work Plan and the findings of their most recent audits that impact utilization review, case management, and audit staff. He also provides his common-sense interpretation of the prevailing regulations related to those target issues. You’ll walk away better equipped with strategies to put in place immediately to reduce your risk of paybacks, increased scrutiny, and criminal penalties.
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