August 2013

In a recent article published by Michael Stearns, MD, CPC, a board certified neurologist, clinical informatist, and coding professional, and John M. McDaniel, MHA, President and Chief Executive Officer of Peak Performance Physicians, LLC, the two intellectuals explored the worlds of EHR and E&M Coding tools.  The article, entitled “Electronic Health Records (EHR) and Evaluation and Management (E&M) Coding Tools: Experience from Evaluations of Four (4) Leading EHR Products,” studied the accuracy and management of EHR systems for E&M coding accuracy.

After examining and evaluating E&M coding accuracy of four undisclosed EHR systems and testing algorithms, the following conclusions were drawn as to the cause of the errors occurring in E&M coding

“I must say a word about fear. It is life’s only true opponent. Only fear can defeat life. It is a clever, treacherous adversary, how well I know. It has no decency, respects no law or convention, shows no mercy. It goes for your weakest spot, which it finds with unerring ease. It begins in your mind, always. One moment you are feeling calm, self-possessed, happy. Then fear, disguised in the garb of mild-mannered doubt, slips into your mind like a spy.”  ― Yann Martel

No one will dispute the fact that these are uncertain times in healthcare. It is almost scary to try and predict where healthcare will be in five years, what about three years, or, even worse, one year. Healthcare reform has continued to move forward, without any care for how we, the leaders of this industry, will adapt. The pace continues to quicken, and experts are popping up as fast as they are falling. The cold hard truth is that we are playing darts in a very dark room, all the while convincing each other that there is light somewhere, and someone will turn it on.