Posted on Monday, October 5, 2015

Do you know about your doctor’s new codes?

When your doctor sees you, he or she has to enter a code in the system that describes the treatment provided. This gives useful information regarding public health and care quality, but it also determines how much a doctor will get paid.

As of October 1, 2015, there is a new code set that doctors must use called ICD-10 (International Classification of Diseases, Revision 10).

Some of our readers have mentioned that they have been noticing a lot of commotion behind the scenes in their doctor’s office lately.

That’s because doctors and hospitals all over the country have been preparing for the switch to ICD-10. ICD-10 is far more complex and specific than the ICD-9 code system it replaced.

There are now almost 70,000 billing codes, as opposed to the previous 14,000 codes. Hospital procedure codes are expanding from 4,000 codes to 72,000 codes.

This means that your doctor will need to be a lot more specific in their coding and may have a lot more questions for you.

Many doctors think this could be problematic, especially during the transition period.

Some doctors and experts have questioned the new codes, as they are extremely specific. For example, under ICD-10, cardiologists no longer have 1 code for angioplasty, now they have 845 codes, and dermatologists now need to specify which of the 8 kinds of acne a patient has. This has caused many doctors a great deal of stress.

Even more problematic for many doctors is that the external causes of injuries have been greatly expanded in the new code system. Many of these new external causes codes are very strange, and again, very specific.

These include specific codes for:

Sucked into jet engine, subsequent encounter;
Pedestrian on foot injured in collision with roller-skater, subsequent encounter;
Swimming-pool of prison as the place of occurrence of the external cause;
Burn due to water-skis on fire, subsequent encounter;
Spacecraft collision injuring occupant, sequela;
And many, many more.

So next time you’re in your doctor’s office and you see them struggling to describe the reason for your visit with extreme specificity, you’ll know why.

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Posted on Monday, September 28, 2015

3 Things to Know about a Patient Advocate

Many of our readers have questions about how to handle problems when they or their loved one is in the hospital. One of the things I always recommend is to contact the hospital’s patient advocate.

Most hospitals and healthcare facilities have a patient advocate that can often help you deal with the complexity of a hospital stay. Whether you are having trouble getting to talk to the doctor or you need a “team” meeting with all of your doctors to understand how the healthcare team is working together to get you better, a patient advocate can help.

Here are 3 things you should know:

Patient advocates have many different names: They can be called Ombudsman, Care Advocates, Health Planners, Coordinators or Navigators.
Different advocates specialize in different areas: Some advocates help you get insurance. Some help you figure out your hospital bills. Some advocates will sit with you and doctor to help you talk to the doctor about your care. Some will help you determine the best place for you to go when you leave the hospital. When you talk to a patient advocate, find out what they can do to help you. If they are not the right person, they will help you get to someone who can help with your particular problem.
You must be your own patient advocate: You should never assume that the hospital will take care of everything. Hospitals have many patients and many healthcare specialists. If you are not getting the care you think you need, you must speak up. By asking the nurse or the doctor to speak with the hospital’s patient advocate, you will often be taking one of the best steps toward solving your healthcare problems.

Have you ever used a patient advocate? What tips do you have? I’d love to hear from you!

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Posted on Monday, September 14, 2015

My Dad and his Health Privacy

Lori-Ann and her father

As my dad was aging, we went to a lot of doctors. It was often difficult to make sure that my dad and my family understood what was happening with his health. Because my dad had been a Methodist minister for over 65 years, many people knew him and were concerned about his health. My dad was a very proud man and didn’t want everyone knowing what he was going through. It was often hard to balance getting all the important information to the people who needed to know but keeping my dad’s private information private.

As a patient or caregiver, health privacy is important for keeping the right people in the know.

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If you are trying to manage this for your family, you need to know some basics about health privacy. First, healthcare providers have specific rules to keep your health information private. It helps to know these rules in order to get the information you need:

Only the patient can give authorization to release their health information to family and friends.
The patient doesn’t need to sign an authorization if the family member is with them at the time of the doctor visit.
Your doctor can give your health information to other healthcare providers who are treating you or your insurance company without your authorizaiton.
You are entitled to your health records. If you ask for them, the doctor must give them to you.
Your healthcare provider must protect your health information whether it’s on paper or in an electronic format.
If you need any specific information, make sure you ask for it.
If you only want certain individuals in your family to get health information about your loved one, make sure you are very specific with your healthcare provider.

Knowing these rules helped me manage my dad’s healthcare and keep his information private when necessary.

Have you had any problems with your or your family’s health privacy? I’d love to hear from you!

If you or your loved one is going to be in the hospital, download my FREE ebook, Easy Healthcare: Your Hospital Stay.

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