Tuesday, April 14, 2015

Importance Of ICD Codes

ICD Codes, International Classification of Diseases codes are used to classify the diseases. This helps in recording keeping which is not only highly effective but also very authentic. It’s being maintained by USA Govt. and WHO.
These are found on patient paperwork, including hospital records, physician records, and death certificates. Commonly used in American and Europe healthcare facilities, Most of the Indian BPO who provides service to these clients uses these codes for all record keeping.


ICD code

  • For Doctors’ reimbursements from Insurance company. All the practices done by Doctors for the patients are recorded in CPT codes (Current Procedural Terminology). Then the CPT needs to match with ICD for all payment to be reimbursed.
  • chronic disease patient, once an ICD code has been assigned, it may affect the treatment he or she receives. ICD standardizes the disease & any doctor can treat the follow up patients after feeding the ICD codes for the patients
  • All clinical trials need ICD codes for the person who is getting admitted to the clinical research
  • ICD codes are recorded in Death certificate for insurance payment.
  • ICD-9 codes and ICD-10 codes actually look quite different from each other. ICD-9 codes, which one can find on current paperwork, are being phased out by 2014 - 15.
  • Most ICD-9 codes are comprised of three characters to the left of a decimal point, and one or two digits to the right of the decimal point. Examples: 250.0 means diabetes with no complications, 530.81 means gastro reflux disease (GERD), 079.99 means a virus.
  • Some ICD-9 codes have V or E in front of them. A V code designates a patient who is accessing the healthcare system for some reason that won't require a diagnosis, usually a preventive reason. Examples: V70.0, the code for a general health check-up, V58.66 specifies that a patient is a long term aspirin user, V76.12 is coded for a healthy person who gets a mammogram, and V04.81 is the most common code for a flu shot.

Medical Coding Course
  • A02.0 indicates a salmonella infection
  • I21.X refers to myocardial infarction
  • M16.1 is used for arthritis in the hip
  • Q codes represent genetic abnormalities, like Q35 for a baby born with a cleft palate

An esteemed organisation like Apollo hospitals and Medvarsity offer Medical Online medical Coding Courses  for graduates with with certification and placement support.

ICD codes could be important to a patient for a variety of reasons:

What Does an ICD-9 Code Look Like?



What Does an ICD-10 Code Look Like?
Over the next few years, ICD-10 is the most robust and detailed classification of diseases. This will replace ICD-9 and will bring more standardization in the medical coding world. ICD-10 codes are approached differently and are quite different from their ICD-9 counterparts. These codes are broken down into chapters and sub chapters. They are comprised of a letter plus two digits to the left of the decimal point, then one digit to the right. The letters group diseases. All codes preceded by a C indicate a malignancy (cancer), codes preceded by a K indicate gastrointestinal problems, and so forth.

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Can ICD learning will help in career prospects?


Most of the Medical Coding and ICDs requirement is in western world. In India, neither our doctors and hospitals or the insurance payers follow the same method for actual day to day payment. So one should learn ICD and Medical coding? 



Tuesday, April 7, 2015

Do you Know about CHILDHOOD EPILEPSY ?

Epilepsy is a relatively common neurologic disorder in children that has important implications for development, parents, and society. Making the correct diagnosis starts with an accurate and complete history that consequently leads to a directed diagnostic workup. This article outlines a diagnostic and management approach to paediatric seizures and epilepsy syndromes. Making the correct diagnosis of epilepsy or non epileptic imitators allows the practitioner to prescribe appropriate therapy. Initial management for typical epileptic syndromes and seizures and potential adverse effects are discussed. Alternative treatment options for pharmacologically resistant patients such as ketogenic diet, vagal nerve stimulation, and surgery are also discussed. While most children favourably respond to anti epileptic medications, early identification of medication failure is important to ensure optimal neuro development.

CHILDHOOD EPILEPSY
 Monotherapy



Diagnostic Evaluation
The appropriate management of childhood epilepsy begins with a clinical evaluation that precedes any therapeutic decisions.

Four diagnostic questions help to determine the clinical management and prognosis as follows:
(1) Seizure confirmation —“Are the described or witnessed events seizures?”
(2) Seizure classification—“What is the likely neuroanatomical location for the seizure”?
(3) Epilepsy classification—“What are the most likely causes or triggers for these       seizures?”
(4) Syndrome identification—“Do age of onset of the seizures, developmental milestones, neurological exam, EEG pattern, and/or brain imaging fit a typical pattern or syndrome?”

Epilepsy and Seizures Management
Seizure management can be achieved either pharmacologically which is preferred and more efficacious or by nonpharmacologic measures such as resective surgery or ketogenic diet.
  
1.      Pharmacological Treatment Options
 Monotherapy is desirable because it decreases the likelihood of adverse effects and avoids drug interactions, which tend to happen sometimes with polypharmacy. In general, recommendations are to start anti-seizure therapy with a single drug, and most children with epilepsy achieve complete seizure control with mono therapy when using the correct drug for the seizure type. When using more than one drug, it is recommended to change only one drug at a time, because it is impossible to determine which drug is responsible for a beneficial or an adverse effect if we make several changes simultaneously. The less frequent the doses are, the more compliance rate will be achieved.


2.      Non pharmacologic Treatment Options
Children with antiepileptic medication-resistant epilepsy or ongoing seizures with focal abnormality should be considered for epilepsy surgery.



For those who have a more serious paediatric epilepsy, optimal management and a favorable outcome will rely in part on patient-specific factors, education, and access to pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatments.

Wednesday, April 1, 2015

Which Education Is Better Classroom Education or Online Education??

Classroom Education


·        Automobile Mechanic/Technician
·        Computer Science/ Engineering
·        Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning Technician
·        Nursing and Patient care

Online Education

·         Limited direct contact with colleagues and professors
·         Fewer opportunities to join on campus clubs and extracurricular activities


The traditional schooling experience requires a student to attend classes in person and on campus. It makes sense to attend classes in person if a student decides to spend valuable full time inside a campus or a in a hostel. There are certainly more opportunities and advantages to join various groups, have peer related evaluation and learning while simultaneously taking classes on campus.
Also, student may need additional assistance from guidance counsellors and professors, which is more readily available on campus. 

Traditional classes may be a better choice for students who aren't very savvy with technology or who enjoy interacting with teachers and professors face-to-face.

In addition, there are some subjects that require more hands-on training during class, such as:
Online education is also known as distance learning and consists of taking classes via the internet. More and more students take online classes because of the flexibility and convenience it provides. Student can attend class sessions from the comfort of home and complete assignments at almost any time of the day. To get details about on-line courses visit us 

Online classes are great for individuals who have a demanding work schedule and / or family responsibilities. In addition, online classes are more cost efficient because they doesn't require any travelling and simultaneously earning. This is possible as the student can schedule his / her education along with work life. The distance learning format allows students to pursue education through an out-of-state school without having to transfer residence.

  • However, there are some clear cons to online education, including:

 While some of the clear advantages of online courses over traditional ones are:

  Online learning is here to stay

 Distance education has been around for many decades in the form of correspondence study. Digital learning started to grow rapidly in the early 2000s with the expansion of personal computers and laptops along with internet facility available at cheap prices. Participation is only likely to increase as technology and software further develop.

  Learning outcomes are just as good.

   Studies indicate that, distance education is getting more & more effective than face-to-face classes. Some topics, particularly those centred on visualization of 3D structures, like Massive bridges, structure of human heart, can be more efficiently learned online. Others are better suited to traditional classes, such as where social interaction or hands-on learning is particularly relevant.

 It is cheaper, but not because of fees

  Online study content is made with some capital investment at the beginning. After that it needs very less amount to update. Unlike books and print media, the whole content is not required to be printed again. So saves a lot of money in preparation. Apart from that, as lot of students are enrolling., this reduces the cost of wages and salaries of the employees working for the online course leading to more cheap price for students.

  In India, Digital learning is playing an important role many diploma,PG,certification ,Correspondence courses are available in market place in all education fields. Even medical courses are also available after MBBS, Life sciences students also. Medvarsity an initiate from Apollo Hospitals offers online healthcare courses like diploma's,certification,PG diploma courses with practical training from Experienced professionals of Apollo. Provides books and support for students.

Sources: www.study.com ,