Are trends in billing for high-intensity emergency care explained by changes in services provided in the emergency department? An observational study among US Medicare beneficiaries.

ABSTRACT: OBJECTIVE:There has been concern that an increase in billing for high-intensity emergency care is due to changes in coding practices facilitated by electronic health records. We sought to characterise the trends in billing for high-intensity emergency care among Medicare beneficiaries and to examine the degree to which trends in high-intensity billing are explained by changes in patient characteristics and services provided in the emergency department (ED). DESIGN, SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS:Observational study using traditional Medicare claims to identify ED visits at non-federal acute care hospitals for elderly beneficiaries in 2006, 2009 and 2012. OUTCOMES MEASURES:Billing intensity was defined by emergency physician evaluation and management (E&M) codes. We tested for overall trends in h

SUBMITTER: Burke LG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5829666 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature