This article was first published in the Summer 2021 issue of Critical Connections.
 
It is important to review your documentation periodically to ensure compliance with correct coding procedures, documentation, and medical necessity support for the service provided. Critical care services are currently on the Office of Inspector General Work Plan and under government and payer scrutiny. Between October 1, 2016, and March 31, 2018, Medicare paid $1.6 billion for critical care services. An audit of critical care services was performed on clinical practices at the University of Pennsylvania because it was one of the 10 highest-paid providers. Of the 150 claims reviewed, 14 did not comply with Medicare requirements for reporting critical care services.
 
Critical Connections, the critical care industry's only newsmagazine, provides information on cutting-edge topics in critical care useful to the entire multiprofessional team.Deborah Grider, CDIP, CCS-P, CPC, CPC-I, CPC-P, COS, CEMC, CPMA