Welcome to the 6th edition of the MRC Insider Newsletter!

Hello colleague,

As we enter this season of gratitude, I would like to take a heartfelt moment to thank each and every one of you — our dedicated auditing and coding professionals, and our wider community of readers who follow, support, and contribute to this work.

Every day, our combined teams demonstrate incredible commitment — ensuring accuracy, compliance, and quality across every chart and every claim. Your precision, compassion, and collaboration truly make a difference in patient care and healthcare integrity.

And to our readers — colleagues, partners, and friends — thank you for being part of this growing community. Your engagement, feedback, and shared passion for excellence continue to inspire us to make each edition of The MRC Insider more meaningful and insightful.

This Thanksgiving, we’re grateful for the people behind the process — for the teamwork that lifts us up, the kindness that connects us, and the shared mission that drives everything we do. May this holiday season bring you peace, rest, and moments of reflection on how much your work — and your presence — matter.

With gratitude,

Team Spotlight

With 15 years of healthcare experience, Chelsea brings a wide-ranging background across specialty and family practice, including front desk operations, AR management, medical records, billing, and coding. Early in her career, she partnered directly with physicians—observing office procedures to ensure accurate documentation.

Her career then expanded into hospital-based roles at a community Trauma II center with NICU, Women’s, CDI, and Stroke programs. Chelsea progressed from inpatient and outpatient coder to Coding Manager for the entire facility. As a 3M superuser, she led testing for system updates, provided board-level guidance on documentation and coding concerns, and delivered one-on-one education to surgeons. Flash forward to today, she is now serving our fabulous Internal Audit team!

Born, raised, and still residing in Northwest Arkansas—home of Walmart, JB Hunt, and Tyson Foods—Chelsea enjoys spending time with her family and dogs, playing Fortnite with her son, watching movies, creating pottery, exploring photography, reading mystery/thriller novels, and building with Legos.

New MRC Article!

🩺 Stay ahead of the curve with our definitive guide to the 2026 CPT® code updates. Learn about key changes, compliance strategies, and how these updates will impact your workflow, billing and revenue cycle.

🔎 To read more, please click here.

Time to Optimize!

Earlier this week, e4health's Nicholas Raup joined Adar Palis (Providence) and James Wellman, CHCIO, CDH-E, MSHCA (Nathan Littauer Hospital & Nursing Home) to break down where technology, data, and workforce strategy intersect to drive meaningful mid-revenue cycle transformation. Their discussion highlights what’s changing, and what leaders must prioritize now.

📺 Watch the on-demand session

📘 Looking ahead? Explore Nick’s insight on why AI is quickly becoming the operating fabric of revenue operations - powering accuracy, scalability, and compliance. Click here to read!

Telehealth Update

🚨 Following the federal government's reopening as of November 12th, the pandemic-era telehealth allowances have been officially reinstated. Coverage is now retroactive to October 1, 2025, and will remain in effect through January 30, 2026. The reinstatement supports continuity of care during this transitional period while maintaining convenient and accessible healthcare delivery options.

🧑‍💻 This update restores many of the expanded telehealth flexibilities that were previously paused, allowing providers and patients to continue virtual visits under applicable guidelines. The extension allows for home as an originating site, audio-only telehealth visits (not just video), and broader provider eligibility.

👩‍⚕️ Providers are encouraged to verify payer-specific requirements and confirm documentation standards for eligible telehealth encounters during this temporary extension.

📰 We will keep you informed as further federal updates become available regarding telehealth policy and post-January guidance.

Did you miss it?

🕷️ Our October Coding Coven webinar wrapped up last month—but you can still catch the magic! Watch the recording of e4health’s CEU-certified session led by industry expert Jeanie Heck, BBA, CCS, CPC, CRC, and stir up clarity on today’s trickiest profee coding challenges, including:

✨ “Separately Identifiable” services
✨ Modifier 25 do’s & don’ts
✨ Add-on code G2211
✨ Real-world profee scenarios you can use right away

🎁 Bonus: Earn 1 AHIMA and 1 AAPC CEU—free!

Don’t miss your chance to revisit the session, sharpen your skills, and boost your coding confidence! 🎃

🎦 Watch Today!

Check out our latest Coding Tip!

🧠 Our Education Team wants to make sure you're "In The Know" with our Coding Corner tip series. This tip comes from e4health Director of Education, Kim Felix, RHIA, CCS.

🔎 Click here to read this valuable Coding Tip!

Employee Engagement Tip!

Reimagining Wellness:

How to Keep Remote Teams Healthy and Engaged

Remote work has changed the way we think about wellness. Without office walls or water cooler chats, employee well-being can easily slip off the radar — even as workloads grow and boundaries blur. At e4health and across the healthcare industry, remote teams are the backbone of daily operations. But keeping them healthy, motivated, and connected takes more than a few wellness emails — it requires creativity, empathy, and a holistic approach. Here’s how to make remote wellness engagement not just a checkbox, but a culture.

🧘‍♀️ 1. Start With a Holistic Wellness Mindset

Wellness isn’t only about physical health — it’s about mental, emotional, and social balance too. When employees work remotely, those lines blur even more. A holistic approach acknowledges that well-being includes:

• Physical health: movement, ergonomics, and healthy routines
• Mental health: managing stress, preventing burnout, and building resilience
• Social wellness: maintaining connection and belonging
• Purpose: finding meaning and value in everyday work

Encourage leaders to check in on the whole person, not just the employee behind the screen.

🕊️ 2. Normalize Conversations Around Mental Health

Mental health support should be visible, accessible, and stigma-free.

• Start meetings with a human moment — a quick “How’s everyone doing today?” can open space for honesty.
• Share resources regularly — make sure employees know how to access counseling, employee assistance programs, or mental health benefits.
• Lead by example — when managers take mental health days or talk about wellness breaks, it empowers the team to do the same.

Even small gestures — like acknowledging that burnout is real — help remote employees feel seen.

🧍 3. Encourage Movement and Micro-Breaks

Remote work often means sitting longer and moving less. Over time, that affects physical and mental health alike.

• Host “Move with Me” challenges — daily or weekly step competitions, yoga breaks, or stretch sessions.
• Offer virtual ergonomics consultations — small posture or desk setup improvements make a huge difference.
• Encourage calendar breaks — 10 minutes between meetings to recharge can prevent fatigue and improve focus.

Simple movement habits drive long-term well-being — and happier, more energized teams.

💬 4. Build Connection Through Wellness

Wellness engagement is also about connection — creating shared moments of care and encouragement.

• Create wellness channels in Slack or Teams for sharing recipes, mindfulness tips, or progress photos.
• Host themed wellness weeks (e.g., “Mindful March” or “Sleep Awareness Week”) with daily micro-challenges.
• Encourage peer accountability partners — two employees checking in on each other’s wellness goals can double engagement.

When people support each other’s goals, well-being becomes a team effort.

🎁 5. Recognize and Reward Healthy Habits

Recognition keeps motivation alive — especially remotely.

• Celebrate monthly wellness champions or “self-care heroes.”
• Offer small incentives for consistent participation — e-gift cards, extra time off, or donation matching for wellness goals.
• Highlight success stories in newsletters or town halls to inspire others.

Recognition isn’t just about prizes — it’s about reinforcing a culture where well-being matters as much as performance.

🌈 6. Lead With Empathy and Flexibility

Wellness engagement starts at the top. When leaders model empathy and balance, employees follow suit.

• Respect boundaries — avoid after-hours messages or encourage flexible schedules for family or self-care time.
• Listen often — use pulse surveys or open Q&As to gauge how people are really doing.
• Be adaptable — not everyone engages with wellness the same way. Offer options that include quiet mindfulness, fitness, learning, or social connection.

Empathy-driven leadership builds loyalty and trust — the heart of lasting engagement.

💚 The Future of Remote Wellness

In the remote era, wellness can’t be a “perk” — it must be part of how work gets done. When teams feel supported in body and mind, engagement follows naturally.

The most effective organizations treat wellness as culture — not a campaign. Because when employees feel cared for, they don’t just show up to work — they thrive.

Final Thought: Wellness engagement isn’t about doing more — it’s about doing what matters most. Connection. Compassion. Balance. These are the real building blocks of a healthy remote workforce.

📰 Industry News: Coding & Auditing Updates

🧾 How to Optimize Mid-Revenue Cycle Services for More Profit

A recently published piece exploring how organizations can strengthen mid-revenue-cycle operations by improving charge capture, coding accuracy, CDI coordination, and claim submission efficiency. The article highlights practical strategies to reduce leakage and boost reimbursement performance across the coding and billing continuum.

🔗 https://qiaben.com/how-to-optimize-mid-revenue-cycle-services-for-more-profit/

💻 How Medical Coding Impacts Revenue Cycle Management in Hospitals

Released within the past few days, this article explains how coding accuracy directly shapes reimbursement, denial rates, and cashflow. It also outlines common workflow pain points and describes how hospitals are turning to better documentation processes and tech-enabled workflows to reduce errors and improve throughput.

🔗 https://coding.vlmshealthcare.com/how-medical-coding-impacts-revenue-cycle-management-in-hospitals/

🧠 The 2 Biggest Revenue Cycle Management Challenges for Healthcare Providers

This insight piece highlights two critical pain points: charge integrity/coding accuracy and growing payer denials. It details how gaps in documentation, coder workload pressures, and payer scrutiny are creating bottlenecks in mid-revenue-cycle operations — and why more organizations are prioritizing quality checks and tech-enabled oversight.

🔗 https://www.thecranewaregroup.com/news-events/news-insights/2025/the-2-biggest-revenue-cycle-management-challenges-for-healthcare-providers/

The Coding Funny - and yes, it's actually real.

Looking to enhance operational efficiency, maximize reimbursement, and reduce denials? Schedule a brief discovery call by clicking here to fill out a short form, and our team will reach out to assist you!

Our Core Values