What is Osteopath Medical Transcription?

There is a rising demand for preventive healthcare and a holistic approach to medicine in the world today. But, often we find that there is still confusion in understanding the difference between allopathic, osteopathic and chiropractic practices of medicine. Actually Osteopathic medicine is an American medical care system that was started in 1874 by Andrew Taylor Still, M.D., D.O. This form of healthcare has its emphasis on the role of musculoskeletal system in health and disease. Take a look at the website of the American Osteopathic Association (AOA) http://www.osteopathic.org/index.cfm

In the United States, an osteopath (or an osteopathic physician) must be a graduate of one of the nation's osteopathic medical schools. Each school is accredited by the AOA and has recognition by the U.S. Department of Education. Thus Doctors of Osteopathic Medicine (D.O.s) are fully licensed medical physicians and surgeons and do practice all clinical specialties along with their M.D. colleagues. However, they are trained to be generalists first, and specialists second. Osteopaths being one of the fastest growing segments of healthcare professionals in the United States, it is estimated that, by 2020 at least 100,000 osteopathic physicians will be in active medical practice.No wonder more and more medical transcription professionals are specializing in the field of Osteopathy medical transcription.

Osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) is practiced by osteopathic physicians and involves the use of hands to diagnose illness and injury and encourages the body's natural tendency toward good health. Along with all other available medical options, Osteopathy physicians are able to offer the most comprehensive care available in medicine today.

Here is a list of all the different osteopathic associations: http://www.osteopathic.org/index.cfm?PageID=lcl_assoc

Outsource Strategies International (OSI) is a US based medical transcription company that offers professional services in medical coding, medical billing and osteopathy medical transcription services.

Medical Transcription Tools and Equipment

Medical transcription has evolved over the years and has always made use of the cutting edge technologies. Many different tools/equipment get used during the medical transcription process. Here is a list of the different tools/ software and equipment that are used either during home based medical transcription or at a bigger work unit that may consist of transcriptionists, editors, Quality Assurance, leaders etc. This list of equipment and tools is not exhaustive.

• MP3 playback software
• Document processor software (like LYX)
• Version Control software
• Time markers
• Bud microphone
• Digital voice recorder
• Headphone
• Computer with Internet/Printer
• Desk and comfortable chair
• AAMT Book of Style
• Encryption software
• File/Documents management software
• Blue Cross/ Shield Directory
• Electronic Medical Dictionary
• Fax machine
• Document shredder
• Word processing program
• Audio playback software
• Anti virus program/
• Thesaurus/dictionary for windows
• System recovery software
• Drug/pharmaceutical reference guide
• Foot pedal
• Ad blocker
• Medical specialty books
• Google toolbar
• Spyware removal Utility
• Monthly newsletter
• Telephone line
• Editing software
• Conference recorder
• Voice recognition software
• Dictation recording equipment
• Text counting software (for home based work)

Voice recognition is one technology area that is being actively researched upon and one can expect a near perfect voice recognition software in the future that will make the transcriptionist's job much easier.

Outsource Strategies International (OSI) is a US based medical transcription company that offers outsourcing solutions in medical transcription, medical billing and medical coding for clients in the US and outside.

The Medical Transcription Team

In any average sized medical transcription unit one will come across a team of people executing the project. The common hierarchies of people who form the transcription team include,

• The Transcriptionist
• Quality Editors (QA)
• Project Administrators

The medical transcriptionist is the front liner, working at the very first stage of making of the transcript. What does the medical transcriptionist do? Well it is his job to listen to the audio tapes and the physician's dictations, type them up, make a transcript and check out its contents. No wonder one of the most preferred skill a transcriptionist should have is the active listening skill besides the knowledge to understand all the technical details that is being talked about. All major flaws, if any, have to be identified at this stage itself. The quality of a professional medical transcriptionist is graded based on the on the quantity/quality of transcript produced by him.

The work is now passed on by the transcriptionist to the next level that consists of quality editors. What do the quality editors do? Well as the name suggests, the quality editors have to edit the transcript, which means, looking out for finer errors (such as spelling mistakes, incorrect words and proper formatting). The QA has to make sure that the transcript is ready for release to the client via the Project leaders/administrator.

Call OSI (Outsource Strategies International) the Oklahoma based medical transcription company for domestic and offshore solutions in medical coding and medical transcription outsourcing.

The Medical Transcription Industry Association

Way back in 1989, Health Professions Institute sponsored and started a forum that was needed for the medical transcription managers and owners to interact and discuss the medical transcription business, its technology etc. Even though the AAMT (American Association of Medical Transcription) was already a very good source of related industry information, there was an unfulfilled need for forming an association that solely represented the interests of the MT business people. Thus gradually in October 1993, MTIA (Medical Transcription Industry Association) officially came into being. Its website is,http://www.mtia.com/index.cfm

MTIA is a not-for-profit trade association serving the needs of medical transcription companies, vendors, and health information management professionals. Its Mission is to create the environment in which the members can prosper, grow, and deliver the highest level of healthcare-documentation services.

Take a look at its board of directors at http://www.mtia.com/bod.cfm and MTIA Code of Ethics at http://www.mtia.com/CodeOfEthics.cfm

See details of the different types of memberships at https://www.mtia.com/MembershipCategories.cfm

MTIA membership application is available at https://www.mtia.com/MTIAMembershipApp.cfm

MTIA's Annual Conference for this year is scheduled for April 23-26, 2008 at Long Beach, California. Here is the schedule of events at the conference, https://www.mtia.com/downloads/MTIA%202008%20Schedule%20at%20A%20Glance.pdf

For outsourcing solutions in medical coding, medical billing and medical transcription services, do call the Oklahoma based medical transcription company OSI (Outsource Strategies International)

Tips for Medical Transcription Dictation

Years back when I was in India, I knew a pharmacist who was the only one who could decipher everything our hospital's only physician scribbled /prescribed on his pad. (Many rural Indian hospitals still follow the system). Believe it or not, whenever the pharmacist took a day off or was on leave, the pharmacy would give out wrong medications that turned up to be tragic. We later solved the problem by getting a mobile phone for our pharmacist friend whom we called up even on his "off days" and clarified what the physician prescribed. Surprisingly he could solve the problem even over the telephone.

Today it is not bad handwriting but bad dictation. It indeed makes the medical transcriptionist's job more difficult and highly prone to mistakes. Further it causes waste of valuable time. So what can be the solution to this problem? Is it possible to have an exclusive transcription professional for each doctor so that he gets know the physician like the back of his hand?

Well here is a guide with tips to proper dictation that will be very useful for the physician to give good dictations and get error free transcripts. I recently came across a group of medical transcription from different specialty groups who all had similar types of requests/appeal for the dictating physicians /doctors.

• While dictating a difficult medical term it would be greatly appreciated if care is taken to see that the term gets well recorded via the microphone.
• Please start the dictation mentioning about the type/title of document that is been dictated instead of keeping the transcriptionist guessing about it till the end.
• Please avoid the tendency to summarize every thing/procedure and include everything in few long sentences. It would be ideal to present the facts in shorter and more communicative sentences if possible.
• Would appreciate if uncommon abbreviations are expanded and dictated when possible.
• Please move your face away for a moment from the microphone to sneeze/cough.
• Please finish your snack before beginning the dictation or keep it for afterwards.
• Never forget to mention the basic information like date/name/ summary etc
• Try and avoid talking fast/ yawns /hiccups while dictating.

Physicians/surgeons should be aware of the background sounds/ noise and how it can become a hindrance to listening to the dictation. Just a pause at such occasions would be greatly appreciated and can save a lot of time.

Outsource Strategies International(OSI) is a US based medical transcription company that offers outsourcing solutions in medical billing, medical coding and medical transcription service for clients globally.

Surgery Medical Transcription

In any allopathic medical practice, surgery is an important aspect. Surgery transcription involves converting all the surgeon's voice tapes about a surgical procedure into neatly typed documents. And thus surgery transcription is an important specialty in medical transcription. Surgery transcriptions are used for settlement of insurance claims and legal matters.

Some of the different types of surgery transcription areas include,

• Dental surgery
• General Surgery
• Cardiovascular/thoracic surgery
• Abdominal/ gastrointestinal surgery
• Orthopedic surgery
• Obstetric and Gynecology surgery
• Neurosurgery
• Plastic surgery

The surgery transcription process can be very demanding from the medical transcriptionists as it requires a deep knowledge of various surgical procedures, surgical techniques and familiarity with the different medical and surgical equipment that is used during surgery. A good transcription professional will have a good knowledge of the anatomy of the human body and the various types of diseases that affect the various parts of the body.

A good knowledge of the different procedures and surgery performed along with familiarity with all related terminology will go a long way in correctly transcribing the surgeon's voice tapes without making mistakes. However in case of pending doubts it is always better for the medical transcription professional to check out directly with the surgeon who actually did the job. A lot of medical equipments are used by the surgeons that the medical surgery transcriptionist has to be familiar with. These can include knowledge of,

• Surgical instruments (Scissors / scalpels etc)
• Surgical Diathermy
• Endoscopic instruments
• Suction apparatus
• Anesthesia machine
• Pulseoximeter
• Plethysmographs
• Multi parameter patient monitors
• Defibrillators
• Autoclaves
• Infusion devices
• Autoclaves

Outsource Strategies International (OSI) is a US based company that offers a wide range of medical transcription, medical billing and coding services to the clients across the US, Canada the UK and Australia.

Medical Transcription Errors Can be Costly

Errors in our medical records can become an expensive mistake. Experts warn that medical transcription errors along with outdated information and inadvertent omissions can put to risk our ability to secure individual health, life or disability insurance. Even if we do get insurance coverage, inaccurate data can also become the reason for us to pay much more than we should.

According to a very recent study conducted by the New York based health issues researching group Commonwealth Fund one-fifth of working-age adults who seek insurance coverage are turned down. They get charged higher because of pre-existing conditions or are offered plans that exclude some types of health issues.

What are the types/causes of errors during transcription? These include,

• Difficult voice recordings
• Lack of judgment of transcriptionist
• Not clear audio
• Speed of dictation
• Dictation accent
• Omission of process step
• Knowledge errors

From where else do the insurance companies get their information? From credit rating companies like the MIB. MIB Group, Inc., also known as the Medical Information Bureau, is a membership corporation and credit rating agency that serves the North American insurance industry. It collects and furnishes information on for use in the insurance underwriting process. In addition to an individual's credit history it also collects data like medical conditions, driving records, criminal activity etc.

Outsource Strategies International (OSI) is an Oklahoma based company that offers professional services in medical transcription, medical billing and medical coding.

Medical Transcription Professional: See Where He Comes In!

You are not well and have decided to see a specialist about that nagging pain. You go and start talking about the problem to the doctor. Now you may need to talk about the past history of the problem which you will have to remember and maybe rack your brains to remember everything just as it happened. (Ideally you must have some past papers and also made specific notes about the problem).

Anyway, after you have explained your problems and also answered all the queries of the doctor, he will physically examine you and also prescribed for various laboratory tests before he is able to make a diagnosis/differential diagnosis. Only after diagnosis does the doctor comes up with the plan of treatment which he explains and gives you / your family members the required instructions/prescriptions that must be followed. Finally as you come out of the doctor's office, you see the other people waiting for their turn to get in and talk to the doctor. But before someone else walks into the doctor's cabin there is something the doctor does after you have left. Well it's just that the entire encounter he had with you is quickly recorded into a voice recording device (either a cassette recorder, telephone or some other device).

In a few minutes the doctor is on to another patient, another issue and thus the voice recordings continue. By the end of the day/session the doctor has seen many patients requiring various types of treatments. Now where is all that critical patients' data? Can we expect the doctor to remember some of the details? Certainly not! Well as of now, most of the information is on tape and tomorrow the doctor or someone else (like say the insurance people) may need to know exactly what happened with say, patient number 6 who came in last Monday?. Should they be given access to those voice recordings? Can they follow the doctor's rumblings? No indeed, everything has to be neat, and in paper. But then the doctor can't type nor does he have the time for paper work. So who does all that work of converting that technical "doctor talk" into a typed document? You guessed it!

OSI (Outsource Strategies International) is an Oklahoma based domestic and offshore outsourcing solutions provider, for medical transcription, medical billing and coding.

HIPAA Compliant Medical Transcription

What is HIPAA? It stands for The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996. It is the standard for electronic exchange of sensitive patient data and protects patients from disclosure of their medical data without authorization. HIPAA has many regulations for electronic transmission of sensitive patient data that define internal procedures that have to be followed for privacy and security. It has become mandatory for all medical transcription service providers to comply with all HIPAA requirements.

Thus HIPAA compliant medical transcription service providers must,

• Ensure security of PHI (Patient Health Information)
• Maintain record of all those who access patient information
• Implement new technology/processes
• Provide physical security requiring password protection.

Today most Medical transcription companies get their transcription done from transcriptionists who may be located elsewhere often outside the US. Transmission is done using the Internet. How safe is the Internet? HIPAA requires all online transmission of voicemails and e-mails be done only after encryption. Or one must use a secure FTP site to send documents. Whenever documents are faxed, a disclaimer statement explaining the confidential nature of the information has to be attached. Telephone dictations are however exempted from the need for encryption during transmission of patient data.

Take a look at the full text of HIPAA at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/HIPAAGenInfo/Downloads/HIPAALaw.pdf

Outsource Strategies International (OSI) is a US based BPO company that offers professional yet affordable services in medical transcription, medical billing and medical coding.

MTIAPI and Medical Transcription in The Philippines

The Philippines is the preferred offshore location after India when it comes to outsourcing medical transcription work to Asia. MTIAPI or The Medical Transcription Industry Association of the Philippines, Inc. is a non-stock, non-profit industry organization recognized by the Philippines government and its BPO industry, with the following objectives.

• Promote the outsourcing of medical transcription services.
• Promote the development and education of individuals and corporations with respect to healthcare information and management.
• Organize any lawful activities within the purposes for which a corporation may be organized under the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Here is a list of the MTIAPI members, http://www.mtiapi.com/memlist.html

Take a look at the new set of the MTIAPI board of trustees for 2008 at http://www.mtiapi.com/trustees.html and its new contact /address at http://www.mtiapi.com/Announcement/Announcement.html

The Philippines has the distinct advantage of having a vast pool of English speaking people. It is actually the third largest English speaking country in the world and also the second largest American English speaking country in the world with a literacy rate of almost 94%. It also has the advantage of having the much preferred 12 hour time difference with the United States. The Philippine government had recently announced that Philippines medical transcription companies have won medical transcription and medical coding contracts worth $1.4 million with American clients.

The Philippines also has registered medical transcription training program institutes like The MTC Academy (MTCA) that provides the latest medical transcription training software and reference materials that are currently being used as industry standards within the United States.

Outsource Strategies International (OSI) is a US based BPO service provider offering professional solutions in domestic as well as offshore medical transcription (from both India and The Philippines), medical coding and medical billing.

Medical Billing Claim Forms

The medical billing and insurance process is always done using specific forms. Whenever a claim is issued to the insurance company during the medical billing process it is obvious that the insurance company must have all the related details about the patient's diagnosis, treatment and the different services that were provided by the health care people. All these details are entered by a professional medical /coder /into the claim forms.

The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) was previously known as the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA). What is the CMS-1500? The CMS-1500 is the basic form prescribed by CMS for the Medicare program for claims from physicians and suppliers. Where do you get these forms? For a look at the source of these forms look at http://www.empiremedicare.com/partbny/1500/source.htm

Here is the CMS homepage http://www.cms.hhs.gov/

UB92 Hospital claim form is the American Medical Association approved format for filing claims. It is printed to government printing office standards with OCR ink for scanning.

A certificate of medical necessity (CMN) is required for Medicare reimbursement for different types of DME and supplies. CMN is also required for Medicare payments for home health services. For affordable and professional services in medical transcription, medical billing and coding contact OSI (Outsource Strategies International) the US based BPO pioneer.

The Evolving Medical Transcription

Medical Transcription is a fast growing and evolving sector that has been influenced by many factors over the years. As preferences and standards have changed, one of the significant aspects of medical transcription has been the shift to electronic patient record. What are the basic factors for this evolution? They include,

• Advancement in technology
• Practice workflow
• Regulations

There has been a lot of demand to enhance patient safety, increase efficiency, and reduce costs. However, even though it has become mandatory for service providers and healthcare practices to migrate to a HIPAA compliant environment there are many companies who still have not yet adhere to this requirement.

In the distant future one can be sure that the voice recognition software will greatly improve and may slowly even replace manual transcription. Adopted technologies such as speech recognition software and application service providers (ASPs) can keep up with the demands of regulations, standards, and cutting-edge demands in this sector. One can also expect that unlike today, medical coding may become embedded within documentation thereby not requiring a separate process and reduce the overall cost of medical transcription.

There is also the growing need for medical transcription to comply with basic Principles of documentation that has been developed by the Consensus Workgroup on Healthcare Documentation & Report Generation. It will look into the following aspects of transcription.

• Patient details
• Accuracy of document
• Completeness
• Timeliness
• Interoperability
• Retrievability
• Authentication
• Accountability
• Auditability
• Confidentiality
• Security

Outsource Strategies International (OSI) is a US based company that offers services in medical billing, medical coding and medical transcription.

Medical Billing for the Urgent Care

Medical billing for the urgent care is a different and unique way of medical billing. Let me explain. First what is urgent care? By definition urgent care is the delivery of ambulatory medical care outside of a hospital emergency department on a walk-in basis without a scheduled appointment. In the US, there are more than 9000 urgent care centers and these mainly function after the regular office hours when patients need immediate attention without the need to go to the emergency department of a hospital.

The Urgent Care Association of America (UCAOA) represents these many urgent care centers that provide appropriate and timely alternatives to the more costly and inconvenient hospital emergency departments. Take a look at the accredited urgent care centers http://www.ucaoa.org/accreditation/sites.html

Medical billing is the process of submitting and following up on claims to insurance companies in order to receive payment for services rendered. Medical billers working in the urgent care sector must have specialized knowledge in urgent care billing and also in the specific area medical coding. It is essential for medical billing services to do highly accurate billing at the same time keep the client's outstanding accounts receivable as low as possible. What are these urgent care situations for medical billing? These include,

• Services in the evening/weekend/ holidays
• Compensation for workers
• Services requiring urgent care/emergency services
• Removing foreign body from eyes
• Drug screening
• Breath testing for alcohol
• Injury in workplace/factories etc

Outsource Strategies International (OSI) is a US based company that offers outsourced services in medical billing, medical coding and medical transcription services for clients in all the US States.

Medical Billing Rules

Medical billing procedures are governed by certain laws. Those who work in this field and are directly involved in collecting the medical fees have especially to be aware of these basic rules and regulations. What is the main purpose of medical billing? Well it is just to make sure that the service provider receives fair payment for services provided and also that payment is received in time. What are main laws that govern medical billing? They include,

• Fair debt Collection Act
• The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act
• The Privacy Rule

The Fair debt collection Act is a federal law that dictates how and when should a debt is to be collected. This act is for protection of the patients and consumers from unlawful threats.
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 which is better known as the HIPAA was enacted by the U.S. Congress in 1996. HIPAA has two titles.

Title I of HIPAA regulates the availability and breadth of group and individual health insurance plans. It amends both the Employee Retirement Income Security Act and the Public Health Service Act. This act also prohibits any group health plan from creating eligibility rules or deciding of insurance premiums for individuals in the plan based on health status, medical history, genetic information, or disability.

The second title of HIPAA contains a portion that increases the efficiency of data exchange for healthcare financial transactions and protects the privacy of electronic data transmission and the confidentiality of patient records. If the HIPPA rules are violated, penalties can be imposed. Title II of HIPAA defines numerous offenses relating to health care and sets civil and criminal penalties for them. It also creates several programs to control fraud and abuse within the health care system.

The privacy rule regulates the use and disclosure of Protected Health Information (PHI). PHI is any information about health status, provision of health care, or payment for health care that can be linked to an individual. Any person who believes that the Privacy Rule is not being upheld can file a complaint with the Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (OCR).

Outsource Strategies International (OSI) is a US based medical transcription company that offers highly professional outsourced services in medical coding, medical billing and medical transcription.

AAPC 2008 National Medical Coding Conference in Orlando

The American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC) had announced that the Sixteenth National Conference will be held in Orlando, FL from June 8th – 11th, 2008. (Please note that another additional annual conference is to be held in Disneyland Hotel January 9 - 12, 2008 and so this would probably be the sixteenth conference and not the Orlando one and registrations have already closed.).

The Orlando conference is said to be a combination of outstanding speakers presenting the most up-to-date coding information and will also be a fun relaxing vacation atmosphere for the whole family. Speakers will include coders, physicians, attorneys, payers, billers, and others.

Registration link:
https://guest.cvent.com/EVENTS/Register/IdentityConfirmation.aspx?e=d723ab71-a4f1-4cf5-bdaa-0c2bad3f3077

Conference agenda is at http://guest.cvent.com/EVENTS/Info/Agenda.aspx?e=d723ab71-a4f1-4cf5-bdaa-0c2bad3f3077

As an attendee you will experience,

• 70 vendors showcasing their latest products
• Networking with colleagues, physicians and educators
• Over 30 educational sessions
• A gathering of top coding professionals from all over the country

For quick and cost effective solutions in outsourcing medical coding / billing and transcription do contact Outsource Strategies International (OSI) the Oklahoma based medical transcription company.

Medical Coding / Billing and H.C.P.C.S

Medical coding/ billing is today one of the 10 fastest-growing allied health occupations. Medical coding and billing professionals are responsible for submitting the proper documents to the various insurance companies and federal agencies for reimbursement of the medical expenses. Medical coders use special codes to specifically identify outpatient and also inpatient procedures / services and this is very useful for billing of both private as well as public insurance companies.

HCPCS stands for Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System. It is a set of health care procedure codes based on the American Medical Association's Current Procedural Terminology (CPT). See the official website of HCPCS at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/MedHCPCSGenInfo

Established in the year 1978, HCPCS provides a standardized coding system for describing the specific items and services provided in the delivery of health care. This type of coding ensures that insurance claims are processed properly and is needed by Medicare, Medicaid, and other health insurance programs.

HCPCS codes exist in two levels.

• Level I is numerical and consists of the American Medical Association's Current Procedural Terminology (CPT)
• Level II codes are alphanumeric and meant for non-physician health services.

It is very essential for medical coders to keep in touch with the latest codes and changes. This is possible by the use of HCPCS books that contain the complete lists of HCPCS Level II codes with descriptions and guide the medical coder through current modifiers, code changes, additions and deletions.

Outsource Strategies International (OSI) is a US based medical transcription company that offers outsourced services in medical coding, medical billing and medical transcription for clients in the US and worldwide.

Medical Coding and Billing Certifications

Professional Medical coding and billing is an important part of the healthcare industry. This is because all data details of a patient are very essential especially because it helps to keep clear of possible legal issues and also to immediately provide complete reimbursement for all the medical expenses of a patient.

What do the medical billers and coders do? They are responsible for the collection, maintenance and analysis of all patient data which is required by the doctors and nurses etc for treatment and cure of the patient. Medical coding and billing certification certificate programs are offered online by different colleges and Universities and is targeted at those who plan to start a new career in medical coding and medical billing. There are courses also for those who are already working as medical coders but want to take the certification exam.

Some of the major curriculum inclusions are the coding principals for inpatient and outpatient hospitals and a study of the three main coding manuals: CPT, ICD-9-CM, and HCPCS.

What are the different government certifications exams that can be taken and what are the certificates? They are,

• American Medical Billing Association (AMBA) CMRS Exam and become a Certified Medical reimbursement Specialist (CMRS).
• American Academy of Professional Coder's (AAPC) Exam and become a Certified Professional coder (CPC )
• American Health Information Management Association's (CCS or CCS-P) board exam.

Official site for CMRS is http://www.ambanet.net/cmrs.htm. The official site for CPC is http://www.aapc.com/certification/cpc.aspx and for CSS (Certified Coding Specialist) is at http://www.ahima.org/certification/ccs.asp

Completion of the online medical billing and coding program can not only help students in getting the university's certificate and help in the preparation for the certification exams in medical billing and coding but also earn them semester credits. Government aid programs are usually available for the students pursuing degrees and taking credits per term.

Outsource Strategies International (OSI) is a US based medical transcription company that offers services in medical billing, medical coding, and medical transcription.

Medical Coding AHIMA Seminar

The American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) will conduct a two day seminar called “Achieving Coding Excellence” at Colorado Springs, CO, on February 28-29, 2008.

The meeting is focused at Coding professionals, Managers of coding, Coding Consultants and others involved in the reporting or use of coded data in hospital settings including both long term care and acute care.

Here is the meet’s agenda http://www.ahima.org/coding/documents/Agendaforwebsite11.30.07.pdf

By attending the conference one can,

• Gain appreciation for how the consistency of coded data and the role of data quality in measuring compliance and quality of care reporting.
• Understand the impact of the new MCC/CC codes, documentation requirements, and query opportunities
• What’s new in the ICD-10-CM classification system
• Apply coding guidelines and expand clinical knowledge for coding specific challenges.
• Awareness of the coder’s role in emerging clinical terminologies and classification systems in electronic health record.

Registration details are available at http://www.ahima.org/coding/2008CCRegistration.asp

Outsource Strategies International (OSI) is a US based medical transcription company that offers professional services in medical billing, medical coding and medical transcription.