flynn043

Every once in awhile I get a complimentary email or message about a blog posting from a couple of years ago, " Getting Through an Operative Report - Without Crying ."  It's always great to hear that people are reading my blog.  It's even better when people cite a particular posting and tell me how very helpful it was for them. This posting has been speaking to me lately too as I move beyond the shallow end of the ICD-10 coding pool and immerse myself neck deep in this new and strange coding world.  I'm not sure if this will make people feel better or if I risk losing part of my audience with this admission, but I've been crying a lot lately when it comes to ICD-10-PCS coding. And thus, the code for the day: R45.83 , Excessive crying of child, adolescent or adult To say that ICD-10-PCS coding is foreign is an understatement.  My favorite statement about it - which I'm sure I've already blogged about before - is that ICD-10-PCS is like CPT on steroids.  ...

Some day I intend to write a book about airline travel.  Not the usual fun and informative here-are-my-best-tips-and-tricks type of book, but a real, this-is-what-it's-really-like-and-can-you-believe-people type of book.  You see, for an avid people watcher, airports are the mother lode.  And what strikes me most about airline travel is how completely clueless people can be when they're using airplanes to get from point A to point B. If you've traveled a lot, you've seen it too.  The woman with 5 bags (how did she get them all through security?!) who can't manage them all, so she stops in the middle of a busy airport concourse to reorganize herself but fails to see the traffic accident she caused behind her.  The young, able bodied person who takes a seat on the rental car shuttle while a elderly woman with obvious difficulty balancing stands and hangs onto the roof strap for dear life.  The person in the middle seat sitting next to you on the plane, who de...

Topping news headlines in Denver this morning is tonight's presidential debate.  I know what you're thinking - it's a big topic everywhere.  But here the focus is not on the candidates or their platforms - yet.  The focus is on what it will do to Denver traffic for the evening commute as our own University of Denver (DU) plays host to the candidates.  If you're not familiar with the geography of Denver - besides the whole mile-high thing - we have one major interstate that runs north and south, connecting the northern community of Fort Collins to the southern city of Colorado Springs.  That is Interstate 25.  And right smack dab in the middle is Denver.  I think Denver is quite unique in that the downtown area is not the only major business area.  Just a little to the south is the Denver Technological Center (DTC) - the Silicone Valley of Colorado, if you will - which is filled with office parks.  To say that I-25 is a busy thoroughfare durin...

Whew, it's over!  That's really all I can say about September - it's over!  It  was a very busy month both professionally and on a personal level and as I organize my to do list this week, I realize just how much I put off.  Busy people understand that you can't get it all done, so it's all about prioritizing and since I am a very ambitious person, my to do list is usually pretty huge and I know going into it that something is going to get cut.  The opposite of this process, in my mind, is doing absolutely nothing! One of my to do stacks.  I'll get to it one of these days... The other day during a little down time (I do have some!), I decided to start in on a series of articles my mom clipped for me.  I usually don't have time to read the articles she sends me, but as I flipped through the pages, with topics ranging from saving for retirement to time management, I thought perhaps I should take the time.  I read the article on why you should break...

The last few weeks have been more than the usual crazy.  I knew going into September that I was going to have to take every rare opportunity I found for a little relaxation.  Since August, I have spent more weekend nights away than at home and while most of my trips have been for fun and not work, I am a person who relishes a routine schedule and values downtime - probably like a lot of coders out there. My September travels began with a trip to North Carolina for a wedding followed closely by a work trip to Kansas City for training.  The whole time I had my eyes open, considering ideas for my blog and looking for inspiration in the normally mundane daily grind.  I have a few ideas that will take more thought before putting to paper - er, PC - so stay tuned.  But it was something quite literal that inspired today's code for the day: a heavenly day spent at the spa with coworkers. I know what you're thinking. A relaxing day at the spa with coworkers is an oxymoro...

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In case you haven't been paying attention lately, there are a few things happening in the health care industry.  We have Obamacare, the insurgence of accountable health organizations, implementation of electronic health records (EHRs), and a firm date for ICD-10.  If you google "fastest growing industries" you will find many of the top 50 jobs are within health care.  And according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the job outlook for a medical records/health information technician (including coding) is projected to grow faster than average at 21% by the year 2020. For a lot of people pondering a change in careers, these statistics might seem like a no brainer, yet the transition to ICD-10 has a lot of people wondering:  is now a good time for a Z56.1 ( Change of job) ? A selection of my codebooks - note the ancient green SNODO book! I do get email from people asking me this very question.  Is now the right time to become a coder, or should I wait?  Th...