Fifth annual “Top 200 Coding Hospitals” report identifies hospitals whose coding practices help them avoid Recovery Audit Contractor penalties and code correctly for severity-adjustment
EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn., – October 13, 2008 – Ingenix, a leading health information, technology and consulting company, today released its fifth annual report on the “Top 200 Coding Hospitals in the U.S.,” ranking hospitals according to the completeness and accuracy of their medical coding practices used to bill Medicare for inpatient medical services. This year’s Top 200 report identifies hospitals that have adapted best to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) updated policies, including a new Medicare payment methodology (MS-DRGs), reduced payment for hospital-acquired conditions, and increased pressure for correct coding via its Recovery Audit Contractors (RAC) program.
Consultants from the Ingenix Health Information Management consulting division reviewed more than 50 indicators that point to coding excellence in the Diagnostic Related Group (DRG) and ICD-9-CM systems. Of the metrics reviewed, 13 exhibited a high correlation with coding accuracy. Ingenix ranked 4,607 U.S. hospitals within their peer groups on each of these 13 metrics and identified overall top performers. The result is a list of major and minor teaching hospitals, urban non-teaching hospitals and rural hospitals in the nation with the most complete and compliant coding practices, including:
- Major Teaching: Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Chicago, Ill.
- Minor Teaching: Kimble Hospital, Junction, Tex.
- Urban, Non-Teaching: Adcare Hospital, Worcester, Mass.
- Rural, Non-Teaching: Glenbeigh Hospital, Rock Creek, Ohio
“Our data shows that these hospitals are avoiding some of the pitfalls associated with severity-adjusted grouping—the same pitfalls that RAC auditors are looking for,” said Warren Guillett, Ingenix senior vice president for Health Systems Optimization.
To compile the Top 200 report and determine the rankings, Ingenix experts used the Ingenix HospitalBenchmarks.com® solution to analyze the recently released 2007 Medicare Provider Analysis and Review (MedPAR) file. The nationwide study and analysis of the findings may be viewed at http://www.ingenix.com/top200. The report also will be distributed at the Ingenix booth (#539) at the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) National Convention, Oct. 11-16 at the Washington State Convention Center in Seattle.
About Ingenix Health Information Management (HIM) Consulting
Ingenix HIM Consulting provides resource management and consulting services in the areas of ICD-9-CM, CPT®, and E/M HIM reviews; case mix analysis; health information management operations; physician office management; ambulatory patient classifications (APC) implementation; chargemaster review and maintenance; financial analysis; service line assessments and hospital staff education. Our mission is to provide senior leadership and department-level consultation support relating to the management of health care finances.
About Ingenix
Ingenix, a wholly owned subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH), transforms organizations and improves health care through information and technology. Organizations rely on its innovative products, services and consulting to improve the delivery and operations of their business. More information about Ingenix can be obtained at http://www.ingenix.com.
HospitalBenchmarks.com is a registered trademark of Ingenix. |
