CLINICAL SUMMARY: Denied One-Day Stay Overturned This case involved a patient who presented to the ER with nausea, vomiting, dry mouth, dehydration, blood sugars greater than 400 and upper abdominal pain. He was diagnosed to have DKA (diabetic ketoacidosis). This 54-year-old patient was not able to take insulin for several days leading up to this […]
CLINICAL SUMMARY: Medical Necessity Behind Short Stay is Key This case involves a one-day inpatient denial for a 30-year-old patient treated for acute pancreatitis. With abdominal pain and nausea, the patient went to the Emergency Department where he was found to have upper abdominal pain and tenderness, a lipase of 1,447 U/L (reference range 16-77
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Insurance companies are more likely to approve inpatient status for surgeries included on the CMS Inpatient Only List (IPO). Total knee replacements and total hip replacements are two common procedures on the IPO list. A Peer-to-Peer review can help reverse a denial for a inpatient stay for these types of cases. CLINICAL SUMMARY: TKA Inpatient
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Hospital utilization management requires constant communication between the utilization management team and physician advisors as well as continuously reassessing observation cases for possible conversion to inpatient status. Missing these opportunities leads to increased observation rates and reduced revenue. It can also lead to patients potentially requiring ongoing medical care beyond the observation period. Such patients
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In a report released March 2 by OIG, investigators found “that most 2019 MA (Medicare Advantage) encounter records contained at least one adjustment code and 55 million of these records contained codes that may indicate the denial of payments by MAOs Medicare Advantage Organizations).” The report’s key take away was that while most of the
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Peer-to-peer discussions between hospital physicians – or their physician advisors – and the insurance company’s medical director can often overturn inpatient denials. But without proper documentation they do not work to rescind denials. Proper documentation must include an assessment coinciding with a detailed treatment plan updated throughout hospitalization. AppriseMD recently recommended to appeal a case
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In her recent article, “Ghosting the Medicare Provider Appeals Process,” Knicole C. Emanuel Esq. argues that the process by which denied Medicare claims are reviewed and appealed is counter to rest of the U.S. legal system. The lengthy process for addressing denied Medicare claims is multi-tiered and, until recently, hampered by a years-long backlog due