Risk Adjustment Factor Raf Made Easy Provider Handbook

Providers have been counseled to code "to the highest specificity," yet are not taught how to accomplish it. Already overworked and often underpaid the Provider doesn't have time to plow through all the rules and regulations to produce the solution. Risk Adjustment Factor Made Easy hopes to cut through the jungle of red-tape, thick textbooks, and laborious internet searches to equip the Provider with quick access to the knowledge needed to be successful while providing references on topics for more exploration when desired. In this version of the Hierarchical Condition Coding (HCC) and Risk-Adjustment Factor (RAF) coding book, the busy provider will receive a simple short-cut to all the information necessary to be successful. This book is quick; easy-to-understand; focuses on common mistakes made by Providers and displays examples of proper coding with appropriate details to help the Provider describe the illnesses of their patients more effectively.HCC/RAF is designed to estimate a patient's "future" health care costs. With the changing of the payment system for Providers from "Paid for Services Rendered" to "Risk-Adjustment Value-Based Care" adherence to coding guidelines are vital to a Provider's bottom line. With the coding details listed, you will learn which codes carry high value and why the codes currently used are not increasing your risk score; thereby, lowering potential earnings. The business end of the practice often suffers because of simple coding errors. This RAF book will arm the provider with the tools necessary to ensure success in the "Value-Based Care" system. ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Barbara Jane Deaton, MSN, FNP-BC, ENP-BCBarbara holds a Master of Science in Nursing and is dually certified as a Family Nurse Practitioner and an Emergency Nurse Practitioner. She owns her own practice in North Carolina and is deeply involved in Risk Adjustment Factor Coding. She has been recognized by a major insurance agency for her understanding of the Risk Adjustment Factor and its role in the future of medicine. Her own risk score has significantly increased by implementing the rules contained in this book.Barbara has won numerous awards since entering the medical field. Among her awards are "Best Nurse Practitioner Award in Morganton, NC 2018" for Inclusion in the 2019-2020 Edition of Worldwide Leaders in Healthcare: nominated Best Nurse Practitioner Preceptor 2019 by Perdue University: Business of the Year Award in Burke County, NC Foundation Award; and the Emergency Physicians Award by the United States Commerce Association.NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: Over the past year, as I became more interested in the Risk Adjustment Factor (RAF), I realized that much of my research portrayed RAF as complex and extremely difficult to learn. When I began putting RAF into play in my own practice, I realized that as a Family Provider, the main codes continued to reappear. The techniques developed became second nature. Gifted with the ability to translate complex medical problems into simple language for some of my uneducated patients; I became aware that this gift should be used to break down the barriers that exist with Risk Adjustment Factor Coding. This book is written in a simplified format with characterizations to help get the point across. By placing these techniques into practice, the patient's illnesses will be accurately portrayed, and the Provider's bottom line will improve

These guidelines have been approved by the four organizations that make up the Cooperating Parties for the ICD-10-CM: the American Hospital Association (AHA), the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA), CMS, and NCHS. These guidelines are a set of rules that have been developed to accompany and complement the official conventions and instructions provided within the ICD-10-CM itself. The instructions and conventions of the classification take precedence over guidelines. These guidelines are based on the coding and sequencing instructions in the Tabular List and Alphabetic Index of ICD-10-CM, but provide additional instruction. Adherence to these guidelines when assigning ICD-10-CM diagnosis codes is required under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). The diagnosis codes (Tabular List and Alphabetic Index) have been adopted under HIPAA for all healthcare settings. A joint effort between the healthcare provider and the coder is essential to achieve complete and accurate documentation, code assignment, and reporting of diagnoses and procedures. These guidelines have been developed to assist both the healthcare provider and the coder in identifying those diagnoses that are to be reported. The importance of consistent, complete documentation in the medical record cannot be overemphasized. Without such documentation accurate coding cannot be achieved. The entire record should be reviewed to determine the specific reason for the encounter and the conditions treated.

This weather guide includes detailed specifications for locating and instrumenting fire weather stations, taking weather observations, and overwintering the Drought Code component of the FWI System. The sensitivity of the FWI System components to weather elements is represented quantitatively. The importance of weather that is not directly observable is discussed in the context of fuel moisture and fire behavior. Current developments in the observation and measurement of fire weather and the forecasting of fire danger are discussed, along with the implications for the reporting of fire weather of increasingly automated fire management information systems.

This report considers the biological and behavioral mechanisms that may underlie the pathogenicity of tobacco smoke. Many Surgeon General's reports have considered research findings on mechanisms in assessing the biological plausibility of associations observed in epidemiologic studies. Mechanisms of disease are important because they may provide plausibility, which is one of the guideline criteria for assessing evidence on causation. This report specifically reviews the evidence on the potential mechanisms by which smoking causes diseases and considers whether a mechanism is likely to be operative in the production of human disease by tobacco smoke. This evidence is relevant to understanding how smoking causes disease, to identifying those who may be particularly susceptible, and to assessing the potential risks of tobacco products.

Meant to aid State & local emergency managers in their efforts to develop & maintain a viable all-hazard emergency operations plan. This guide clarifies the preparedness, response, & short-term recovery planning elements that warrant inclusion in emergency operations plans. It offers the best judgment & recommendations on how to deal with the entire planning process -- from forming a planning team to writing the plan. Specific topics of discussion include: preliminary considerations, the planning process, emergency operations plan format, basic plan content, functional annex content, hazard-unique planning, & linking Federal & State operations.

This new edition incorporates revised guidance from H.M Treasury which is designed to promote efficient policy development and resource allocation across government through the use of a thorough, long-term and analytically robust approach to the appraisal and evaluation of public service projects before significant funds are committed. It is the first edition to have been aided by a consultation process in order to ensure the guidance is clearer and more closely tailored to suit the needs of users.