COVID-19 Archives

New COVID-19 Code for Bivalent Booster

By Deborah Marsh

In Coding

Mar 21st, 2023

No Comments

Code 0174A is effective now for patients ages 6 months to 4 years. On March 14, 2023, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration amended the emergency use authorization (EUA) of the bivalent Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to allow providers to administer a booster to certain young patients. As a result, on March 17, the American Medical ...

Information Blocking: A Costly Mistake

By Terry Fletcher

In Compliance

Mar 1st, 2023

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Know your patients’ right of access to their medical records. The patient is at the center of the 21st Century Cures Act. Putting patients in charge of their health records is at the center of the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS’) work toward a value-based healthcare system. Giving patients control of their electronic ...

Jury Convicts Physician for Misappropriating $250K From COVID-19 Relief

By Joy Battistini

In Compliance

Feb 17th, 2023

2 Comments

Conviction is just one of more than 130 such criminal cases involving $80 million A federal jury convicted a Colorado physician, Jan. 13, for misappropriating about $250,000 from two separate COVID-19 relief funds. The Accusation According to court documents, Francis F. Joseph, MD, 57, received about $118,000 from the Accelerated and Advance Payment Program and ...

OIG Audit Prompts ASPR to Improve Its Oversight of HPP

By Lee Fifield

In Audit

Feb 8th, 2023

No Comments

Audit reveals crisis standards of care fell short during pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic and nationwide shutdown that started in March 2020 placed a spotlight on crisis preparedness within the U.S. healthcare system. Nursing homes, hospitals, and other care facilities all faced challenges and scrutiny. It was during the height of the pandemic that individuals with ...

COVID-19 PHE to End May 11

By Rebecca Johnson

In CMS

Feb 3rd, 2023

No Comments

After 12 PHE declaration renewals, the feds’ wind-down will drop a significant workload on providers. The Biden administration has been signaling the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) since late last summer, but now there’s a concrete end date — which means you need to start preparing for it immediately. In an August ...

New COVID-19 Code for Bivalent Booster

Information Blocking: A Costly Mistake

Jury Convicts Physician for Misappropriating $250K From COVID-19 Relief

OIG Audit Prompts ASPR to Improve Its Oversight of HPP

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