It is no secret that the amount of information found in databases is increasing exponentially as we continue on our journey into an era of electronic data. The question is – what do we do with all of this information?

A new revolution is trending in healthcare across the globe – the accumulation of data. Over the past decade or so, patient information has been stored electronically in hundreds of thousands of databases, which now hold a wealth of medical data. This "big data" is now being used for research purposes to create a smarter and more effective healthcare industry. 

As mentioned in a previous article, the NUCC (National Uniform Claim Committee) has recently released the newest version of the CMS-1500 form – revision 02/12. This new revision includes several changes, including the addition of eight extra diagnosis codes to help prepare for the upcoming ICD-10 implementation. A QR code and an ICD-9 or ICD-10 indicator have also been added to the form. 

This has been an eventful year in the healthcare industry – the newest CMS 1500 form was released, the Health Insurance Exchanges opened and the industry continued to prepare for the upcoming ICD-10 implementation. Based on insight from the media, 2014 is predicted to be another important and active year for healthcare. 

The purpose of health care reform is to rebuild the American health care system. The elimination and prevention of fraud, waste and abuse (FWA) in medical programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid is an essential component of improving the medical industry. By implementing the use of data systems with accurate detection capabilities and also strongly enforcing FWA laws, there is a strong possibility of returning billions of dollars to the health care system.