Hello and welcome to my first post on Coding Notes, MedicalBillingandCoding.org’s new feed of posts about medical billing and coding.
I first want to introduce myself to everyone – my name is Holly Cassano and I am a Certified Professional Coder (CPC), credentialed through the American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC). I have been in the healthcare industry since 1993 and have had my CPC Certification since December, 2006.
Sometimes I look back and can’t believe it’s been almost 20 years! It has been a very interesting and rewarding road and one of my passions and reasons for sitting for my CPC, is that I wanted to be a writer in this field. I currently am involved in Risk Adjustment and Medicare Advantage Coding/Auditing/Billing and Physician Education, which is a completely different type of Coding and Billing versus traditional ICD9, CPT4 Fee For Service(FFS).
I have been writing for the past four years for various publications, including the AAPC and have had my own monthly column as well. I truly enjoy being able to assist readers with questions and like to report on a wide variety of topics, with a special interest in Compliance, as there has been such an abundance of healthcare fraud, waste and abuse for the past two decades.
I reside in Central Florida currently, but am a New York native…….yes, I lived there when the 2001 attacks occurred- and went and volunteered several days after at the Javitz Center. It was an interesting time for our country and for those in healthcare – coding had several new Ecodes added as a result – specifically: E979.1 Terrorism involving destruction of aircraft, which includes crushed by falling aircraft, E979.6 Terrorism by Biological Weapons, including Anthrax and E979.9 Terrorism Secondary Effects. It certainly changed the face of Medical Coding and Billing since the attacks, as have other national and international disasters. Which leads me to my next topic, one of my favorite Specialities that I have coded, Emergency Medicine.
Now I know that may sound a bit odd, but aside from TRUE Emergencies, which definitely are not to be taken lightly, I have coded my share of highly entertaining accident/’inujuries that include my favorite Chief Complaint: Animal Bite — the majority of these come from people who really just can’t leave well enough alone — as in the case of man who receieved an alligator bite on his leg (very minor – all limbs were retained) because he was trying to take a picture of one at a game preserve and "opened the enclosure to get a closer shot" — I think he must have forgotten about telephoto lenses.
Just to shed a little light on what’s going on in the industry today – is of course ICD10 and how will Coder’s and Providers handle the impending implementation?
Well first off, we do have some time — thankfully — still to get it right. One thing I urge, though, is if you have not sat for your AHIMA or AAPC Coding Certifications yet, I strongly suggest all of you to do so prior to ICD10 implementation, as it will make sitting for the recertification an easier process if you have the basics down.
Of course there are many different areas that are constantly evolving and the hot topics are illustrated for the coming year in the annual installment of the OIG’s Work Plan, that is published every October. So that is just a little about me and some highlights from my career, and the industry.
I am truly looking forward to introducing my readers to some great information and tools along the way and encourage all of you to WRITE me anytime!!!
Happy Reading!!
Holly
Holly can be reached with questions at holly@medicalbillingandcoding.org or follow her on twitter @HollyCassano.