[January 17, 2012]

Health Language, Inc. Launches a New Version of its Provider Friendly Terminology to Include Attributes Native to ICD-10-CM

Health Language, Inc. (HLI), the global leader in medical terminology management, today announced that it has launched a new version of its provider friendly terminology (PFT) to include clinician friendly synonyms and more than 100,000 attributes for ICD-10-CM.

The version simplifies complexities that are associated with coding in ICD-10 by enabling providers to input familiar terminology into their electronic health record (EHR) and prompting clinicians or coders to add newly required data that may be missing. As a result, hospitals and health systems can enhance clinical workflow and minimize lost revenue from inaccurate or incomplete clinical documentation.

"We work closely with clients to identify content concerns and find tangible solutions. Losing control of critical patient data amidst healthcare reform is causing serious apprehension for clinicians," said George Schwend, CEO and president of HLI. "By adding these clinician-friendly words and attributes to our PFT content set, providers are able to confidently ease their way into ICD-10 by minimizing the learning curve and allowing them to choose the manner in which they interact with their EHR."

PFT are synonyms, colloquialisms andabbreviations that are added to standard terminologies to make it easier for clinicians to document in an EHR. For this new version, HLI also identified and implemented the most common attributes required in ICD-10. Examples include the following:

• Encounter - Is this the initial, sequel or a subsequent visit?
• Gender - Is this a male or a female?
• Laterality - Is this a bilateral, left or right injury?
• Severity - Is this a mild, moderate or severe injury?

"The transition to ICD-10 will require us clinicians to document in more detail. The use of the PFT with the attributes guides us in a simple manner to those details we need in order to bill using the right ICD-10 codes," adds Dr. Brian Levy (News - Alert), senior vice president and chief medical officer for HLI. In addition, an EHR can use the PFT and attributes to automatically pre-populate available patient information, thus refining to the correct ICD-10-CM codes.

The new attributes and diagnoses are available to providers and payers as a flat file, imported into existing code management software, or via HLI's Language Engine (LE). For clients that use HLI's LEAP, a Web-based access portal, clinicians are able to easily add and expand synonyms in their library. Furthermore, HLI utilizes a client-driven product development model that offers clients a request submission process through which they can add synonyms as needed.

To learn more about HLI and its provider friendly terminology, visit www.healthlanguage.com.

About Health Language, Inc.

Denver-based Health Language, Inc. (HLI) develops and delivers state-of-the-art software solutions that automatically incorporate medical vocabulary and coding standards into healthcare information technology applications. HLI's Language Engine (LE) allows centralized access to medical terminology standards and generates mappings to create a common pool of standardized codes and concepts that enhance patient safety, facilitate clinical outcomes analysis and accelerate reimbursement. It also provides standards for modeling, storing, updating and distributing information consistently for interoperability among hospitals, regions and countries. For more information, visit www.healthlanguage.com or call 720-940-2900.

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