Timing is important when auditing observation status

Some compliance mistakes never seem to go away, no matter how hard you try. “I would say it’s a repeater,” says Maggie Gambill, RHIA, CCS-P, coding compliance manager at CHAN Healthcare Auditors in Clayton, MO, about the issue of incorrectly admitting and billing for observation services. “We do auditing on certain subjects over time, and people get it. But this seems to be one that lingers.” That’s too bad, because recovery audit contractors (RAC) are paying close attention to patient status issues.