Find Official Guidance with COVID-19 Resource List: To Help You Stay Current on Updates while Looking Ahead to a Forward Motion Plan.

Though the response has been swift, when the virus first emerged, there were no specific codes or guidelines set and no process to document testing accurately. We now have designated diagnoses codes and guidelines for COVID-19, but bringing coding teams up to speed will require diligence. The COVID-19 billing considerations are even more complex.

Accounting for COVID-19 coding accuracy, coupled with continuous and specified training, will not only help to cope with the current situation, but it will also provide a foundation for handling the unexpected of what the future may bring. Proactively putting a process in place now can create a
needed safety-net for future issues. For instance, an elevated level of scrutiny around claims for COVID-19 in the ‘post-pandemic’ phase should be expected. This is precisely why proper coding and clinical
documentation is so necessary — If you haven’t started auditing COVID-19 claims yet, you need to!

Without confirming proper claim submittal, future denials for COVID-19 are inevitable. It’s essential to take steps now to develop a strategy to prepare staff for coding claims, resubmission of claims, and assess what resources might be in shortage coming out of the pandemic.

With all the focus on managing crisis mode, payment delays and denials may also be at risk of falling through the cracks. Hospitals have been operating in a chaotic environment, which understandably can divert attention from payment delays and denials. Identifying issues in a preempted manner, and putting corrective measures into place now will help to gain future insight and keep cash flowing at a time it is much needed.

To help our healthcare partners get through this time, we created a Go-To Resource List, where we’ve compiled links to quickly access all the information required for efficient management of COVID-19 issues and the most up-to-date medical code detail and effective dates in one place --Everything you need to know related to COVID-19 for healthcare professionals!​