by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Aug 14, 2015 | Fight the Good Fight, Health Information Technology and Wound Care
Good morning and Happy Friday! Friday’s on the blog are reserved for “Ask the Physician Friday.” If you have any questions for me please feel free to leave them in the comments below, ask on Twitter (@carolinefifemd), or on Facebook (@Woodlands Wound Physicians). I...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Aug 12, 2015 | Fight the Good Fight, Health Information Technology and Wound Care
Yesterday I discussed the challenges of ICD-10 coding late effects of radiation. Last week I showed you the axillae of a lady after breast cancer who had radiation changes and a non-healing wound. Her transcutaneous oximetry values on leads 1 and 3 were 8mmHg and...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Aug 11, 2015 | Fight the Good Fight, Health Information Technology and Wound Care
ICD-10 has completely consumed my time in the past few weeks. Let’s talk straight about how this is going to work for wound care and hyperbaric medicine. There are 2 fundamental ways coding has ALWAYS worked, even with ICD-9. Option #1: The doctor knows the codes...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Aug 5, 2015 | Fight the Good Fight, Health Information Technology and Wound Care
This is the axillae of a woman who had breast cancer a year ago and underwent radiation to the axillae after a lymph node biopsy. She developed a seroma which was drained and then became infected. She has a large wound about the size of an orange that you can’t see...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Aug 4, 2015 | Fight the Good Fight, Health Information Technology and Wound Care
There is a lot going on about hyperbaric oxygen therapy documentation. The start of the prior authorization demonstration program for non-emergent hyperbaric oxygen therapy was delayed a bit but is it now active in Illinois, Michigan, and New Jersey. If prior...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Jul 29, 2015 | Fight the Good Fight, Health Information Technology and Wound Care
A lot of patients with chronic venous disease develop lymphedema. The “red legs” they get can be mistaken for cellulitis although they are usually the commonly seen vasodilation of blood vessels seen with lymphedema, sometimes superimposed on hemosiderin...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Jul 28, 2015 | Fight the Good Fight, Health Information Technology and Wound Care, US Wound Registry
Every Tuesday this month we’ve been having some straight talk about a US Wound Registry Quality Measure. I’d like to talk about the measure “Appropriate use of hyperbaric oxygen therapy for diabetic foot ulcers”. This was the first HBOT measure the USWR asked CMS to...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Jul 22, 2015 | Fight the Good Fight, Health Information Technology and Wound Care
Here’s a patient I’ve talked to extensively about nutrition. In fact, that’s about the only intervention I’ve provided and she’s nearly healed her wounds. It might be time for us to think about “food as medicine”. Caroline Fife, M.D.Dr. Fife is a world renowned wound...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Jul 20, 2015 | Fight the Good Fight, Health Information Technology and Wound Care
Every Tuesday this month we’ve been having some straight talk about a US Wound Registry Quality Measure. In the Jan/Feb 2-13 issue of Today’s Wound Clinic, Darlene Carey discussed the results of a pilot study of 3 quality measures: 1) vascular screening of leg ulcer...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Jul 15, 2015 | Fight the Good Fight, Health Information Technology and Wound Care
Here’s a photo of Duoderm paste and a Duoderm pad being used for debridement. Tomorrow I’ll explain. Caroline Fife, M.D.Dr. Fife is a world renowned wound care physician dedicated to improving patient outcomes through quality driven care. Please visit my blog...
