Category Archives: Healthcare

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Do you know about your doctor’s new codes?

Doctor On Stress With Stacks Of Files. Bureaucracy In The HospitWhen 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.

Right now you can receive a FREE copy of my ebook Easy Healthcare: Your Hospital Stay. CLICK HERE FOR FREE DOWNLOAD

With MyHealthspin, You Spin Your Healthcare Your Way!

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3 Things to Know about a Patient Advocate

Ill Father Making A Last WillMany 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:

  1. Patient advocates have many different names: They can be called Ombudsman, Care Advocates, Health Planners, Coordinators or Navigators.
  2. 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.
  3. 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!

To learn more about your healthcare, please subscribe to MyHealthSpin.com and receive a FREE copy of my ebook Easy Healthcare: Your Hospital Stay. CLICK HERE FOR FREE DOWNLOAD

With MyHealthspin, You Spin Your Healthcare Your Way!

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Hurry! Do you have your child’s medical records to start school?

First day at schoolWhile we are all trying to soak up the last bit of summer, the school year is quickly approaching.

If you are registering for school, childcare, or sports teams you will have to provide your child’s vaccination records. This time of year families are gathering school supplies, sports and band equipment to get ready for school, but many forget about their child’s immunization records. Thinking ahead will save you time and money!

Keeping up-to-date immunization records for your children is important. They might not be able to start school without them. You don’t want to get to the first day of school and have to call the doctor’s office (with all the other parents who forgot) or worse yet – not know where the immunization records are. Many families move often or change doctors because of job or insurance changes. Make sure you know where your child’s records are.

Every state differs on what exactly is required, but generally, you will need:

  1. Hep B
  2. RV and RV1
  3. Diptheria
  4. Tetanus
  5. Haemophilus influenzae
  6. Pneumococcal conjugate 6
  7. Measles
  8. Hep A
  9. Possibly others depending on the age of your child

Before your child starts school, do this:

  1. Check with your children’s school about which vaccines are required
  2. Call you child’s doctor to get his or her vaccine record, or
  3. Have the doctor complete an immunization card for each vaccine your child receives. This way you can simply use a copy of the card whenever you need to prove that your child has been vaccinated.

How are you gathering your child’s immunization records?  I’d love to hear from you? CLICK HERE TO CONTACT ME

If you’d like to learn more about your family’s healthcare, subscribe to MyHealthSpin.com and receive a FREE copy of my ebook Easy Healthcare: Your Hospital Stay. CLICK HERE FOR FREE DOWNLOAD

With MyHealthspin, You Spin Your Healthcare Your Way!