Who's minding the charge description master?
Just as it takes a team to manage chronic wounds, it takes a team to maintain the CDM. The technical staff from the wound care department should be represented on this team and should share the appropriate HCPCS codes and CPT codes, product descriptions, and costs for all procedures, services, supplies, drugs, and biologics used in their department. The billing department should ensure that the appropriate revenue codes for each payer are listed for each item on the CDM. Based on costs supplied by the wound care department, the finance department should consistently assign hospital charges to each line item on the CDM. The information technology department is responsible for making the specific changes to the CDM in the computer system. Most hospitals have a CDM coordinator. The technical staff from the wound care department should work closely with the CDM coordinator and should obtain from him/her the policies and procedures for maintaining the wound care department CDM. Most CDM coordinators will also provide a CDM Change Request Form. Use that form each year when the hospital is performing its annual CDM maintenance and throughout the year to add procedures, services, supplies, drugs, or biologics to your wound care offerings and/or when the cost for these offerings change.
Kathleen D. Schaum & Associates, Inc, Lake Worth, Florida, USA. kathleendschaum@bellsouth.net
Kathleen D
KD
Schaum
D039702:Current Procedural Terminology; D005249:Fees and Charges; D006751:Hospital Information Systems / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006761:Hospitals / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007349:Insurance, Health, Reimbursement / Q000191:economics* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010045:Outpatients; D014481:United States; D014945:Wound Healing