Attrition rate

Disenrollment from a health insurance plan expressed as a percentage of total membership. For example, a managed care plan with 40,000 members with a 2% attrition rate would need to gain 800 new members each month to retain the initial 40,000 covered lives.

AU

HCPCS Level II modifier that may be used with CPT or HCPCS Level II codes indicating item(s) used with urological, ostomy, or tracheostomy supplies. Use of this modifier affects Medicare payment.

Audit

1. Formal, methodical examination or review done to inspect, analyze, and scrutinize the way something is being done (e.g., bookkeeping practices, medical record documentation, insurance claim filing) to determine operational efficiency. 2. In the Medicare program, a process to ensure that the fiscal intermediary reimburses providers based only on costs associated with patient care.

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Some policies (such as workers compensation) are written subject to an audit. Since workers compensation premium is based on the insured’s payroll, the insurer is entitled to audit the insured’s records at the end of the policy to verify that it has collected an adequate premium for the amount of payroll to which it was exposed.

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US: A survey of the financial records of a person or organization conducted annually (in most cases) to determine exposures, limits, premiums, etc.

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Survey of an insured’s records to determine the premium which should be paid to the Insurer for protection furnished and perhaps for other purposes, such as compliance with loss control recommendations.

 

 

 

Augmentation

Add to or increase a body site (e.g., plastic reconstruction procedure, implant, prosthesis, bone or soft tissue graft).

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UK: Provision of additional benefits for particular members of an occupational pension scheme. The cost normally falls on the employer.

 

Authenticate

1. Verify authorship of a patient’s medical record by signature, initials, or rubber stamp that data are accurate, complete, and final. 2. Verify or identify access privileges of a user or user device to an information system. 3. Process to certify that a document is genuine.

Authoritative evidence

Written medical or scientific conclusions demonstrating the medical effectiveness of a service produced by the following: controlled clinical trials, published in peer-reviewed medical or scientific journals; controlled clinical trials completed and accepted for publication in peer-reviewed medical or scientific journals; assessments initiated by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS); evaluations or studies initiated by Medicare contractors; case studies published in peer-reviewed medical or scientific journals that present treatment protocols.