Systems and methods for automated review of risk adjustment data on submitted medical claims

Abstract

Disclosed and described herein are systems and methods of performing computer-aided analysis of health claims to determine if a current claim is consistent with past claims for a member. Consistent claims are directed to a healthcare payor while non-consistent claims are returned for review and/or revision.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for performing computer-aided analysis of an electronic health claim to facilitate certification that risk adjustment data submitted to the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is accurate, complete, and truthful, the method comprising:
 receiving, by a computer, an electronic communication transmitted from a sender, the electronic communication comprising at least a portion of a current electronic health claim associated with a member, the portion of the current electronic health claim including one or more diagnosis codes associated with the member and an identifier for the member;   determining, by the computer, whether the member is covered by a health care plan provided by a payor by querying a database of prior electronic health claims using the identifier, wherein the database comprises information from at least one of a plurality of healthcare providers and a plurality of healthcare payors;   identifying, by the computer and responsive to determining that the member is covered by the health care plan, a set of expected diagnosis codes for the current electronic health claim by querying an electronic medical history of the member stored in the database, said set of expected diagnosis codes associated with a chronic disease or a chronic condition of the member and identified by:
 querying the electronic medical history for previously submitted diagnosis codes associated with the member, and 
 responsive to identifying at least one previously submitted diagnosis code, determining a chronic condition associated with the at least one previously submitted diagnosis code, wherein the set of expected diagnosis codes are mapped to the chronic condition in the database; 
   determining, by the computer, whether at least one of the set of expected diagnosis codes is included in the one or more diagnosis codes of the current electronic health claim;   when it is determined that at least one of the set of expected diagnosis codes is included in the one or more diagnosis codes of the current electronic health claim, transmitting the electronic communication to the payor, wherein the payor: i) certifies the risk adjustment data associated with the electronic health claim is accurate, complete and truthful based on the determination that at least one of the set of expected diagnosis codes is included in the one or more diagnosis codes of the current electronic health claim, and ii) submits data associated with the certified electronic health claim to the CMS for reimbursement; and   when it is determined that at least one of the set of expected diagnosis codes is not included in the one or more diagnosis codes of the current electronic health claim, then:
 not sending the electronic communication to the payor, 
 transmitting a message to the sender identifying the expected diagnosis codes, and 
 tracking an incident rate for the sender by updating the database to include an indication that the current electronic health claim was missing the at least one of the set of expected diagnosis codes, wherein the incident rate for the sender is compared to incident rates of other healthcare providers to trigger an audit of the sender's practices and procedures. 
   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the sender is a healthcare provider and the recipient is a healthcare payor. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the computer comprises a clearinghouse and the clearinghouse is configured to communicate claim messages between healthcare providers and healthcare payors. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein when it is determined that at least one of the set of expected diagnosis codes is not included in the portion of the current electronic health claim, then the method further comprises the computer identifying at least one of the expected diagnosis codes to include in the message based on at least one of frequency of the chronic diagnosis codes found in the prior diagnosis codes or recency of chronic diagnosis codes found in the prior diagnosis codes. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein when accessing, by the computer, the database of health claims, the computer only accesses and analyzes health claims associated with a defined period of time. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein identifying the set of expected diagnosis codes comprises:
 querying, by the computer, the electronic medical history of the member to determine a pattern that indicates existence of a potential chronic disease or chronic condition of the member; and   identifying, by the computer, one or more chronic diagnosis codes associated with the potential chronic disease or chronic condition using the database which includes mappings of chronic diseases or chronic conditions to chronic diagnosis codes.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein the sender is a healthcare provider, and wherein the computer further utilizes one or more of a specialty of the healthcare provider, what other healthcare providers in that specialty often diagnose, and/or an amount of time spent by the healthcare provider with the member when identifying the set of expected diagnosis codes. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein when it is determined that at least one of the set of expected diagnosis codes is not included in the one or more diagnosis codes of the current electronic health claim, and before transmitting the message to the sender, then:
 accessing, by the computer, the electronic medical history of the member;   determining, by the computer, whether any prior health claim associated with the member over a past time period found in the database of health claims include at least one of the previously submitted diagnosis codes that are included in the set of expected diagnosis codes;   when it is determined, by the computer, that at least one prior diagnosis code is included in the set of expected diagnosis codes, then transmitting the electronic communication to the recipient computer of the recipient and not sending the message to the sender computer of the sender; and   when it is determined, by the computer, that at least one prior diagnosis code is not included in the set of expected diagnosis codes, then sending the message to the sender computer of the sender.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein when it is determined that at least one of the set of expected diagnosis codes is not included in the one or more diagnosis codes of the current electronic health claim, then:
 accessing, by the computer, the electronic medical history of the user to identify past health claims associated with the member and the previously submitted diagnosis codes associated with the past health claims; and   determining the set of expected diagnosis codes to include in the message based on at least one of frequency of chronic diagnosis codes found in the previously submitted diagnosis codes, or recency of chronic diagnosis codes found in the previously submitted diagnosis codes.   
     
     
         10 . A system for performing computer-aided analysis of an electronic health claim to facilitate certification that risk adjustment data submitted to the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is accurate, complete, and truthful, the system comprising:
 a processor; and   memory having instructions stored thereon that, when executed by the processor, cause the system to:
 receive an electronic communication from a sender computer, wherein the electronic communication includes a current electronic health claim associated with a member, the electronic health claim including one or more diagnosis codes associated with the member and an identifier for the member; 
 determine whether the member is covered by a health care plan provided by a healthcare payor by querying a database of prior electronic health claims using the identifier, wherein the database comprises information from a plurality of healthcare providers and/or a plurality of healthcare payors; 
 responsive to determining that the member is covered by the health care plan, 
 predict a set of one or more expected diagnosis codes associated with a chronic disease or a chronic condition of the member for the current electronic health claim based on an electronic medical history of the member stored in the database, the set of expected diagnosis codes predicted by causing the system to: i) query the electronic medical history for previously submitted diagnosis codes associated with the member, and ii) responsive to identifying at least one previously submitted diagnosis code, determine a chronic condition associated with the at least one previously submitted diagnosis code, wherein the set of expected diagnosis codes are mapped to the chronic condition in the database; 
 determine whether at least one of the set of expected diagnosis codes is included in the one or more diagnosis codes of the current electronic health claim; 
 when it is determined that at least one of the set of expected diagnosis codes is included in the one or more diagnosis codes of the current electronic health claim, transmit the electronic communication to a recipient computer associated with the healthcare payor, wherein the healthcare payor: i) certifies the risk adjustment data associated with the electronic health claim is accurate, complete and truthful based on the determination that at least one of the set of expected diagnosis codes is included in the one or more diagnosis codes of the current electronic health claim, and ii) submits data associated with the certified electronic health claim to the CMS for reimbursement; and 
 when it is determined that at least one of the set of expected diagnosis codes is not included in the one or more diagnosis codes of the current electronic health claim, then:
 not send the electronic communication to the recipient computer, 
 transmit a message to the sender computer, the message identifying at least one of the expected diagnosis codes, and 
 track an incident rate for a healthcare provider that operates the sender computer by updating the database to include an indication that the current electronic health claim was missing the at least one of the set of expected diagnosis codes, wherein the incident rate for the healthcare provider that operates the sender computer is compared to incident rates of other ones of the plurality of healthcare providers healthcare providers to trigger an audit of the healthcare provider's practices and procedures. 
 
   
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein the sender computer is associated with a healthcare provider and the recipient computer is associated with a healthcare payor. 
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein the system is a clearinghouse and wherein the electronic communication is intercepted as it is transmitted between the sender computing and the recipient computer. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 10 , the instructions further causing the system to:
 identify, responsive to a determination that at least one of the set of expected diagnosis codes is not included in the portion of the current electronic health claim, at least one of the expected diagnosis codes to include in the message based on at least one of frequency of the chronic diagnosis codes found in the prior diagnosis codes or recency of chronic diagnosis codes found in the prior diagnosis codes.   
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein accessing the database of health claims comprises only accessing and analyzing health claims associated with a defined period of time. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein identifying the set of expected diagnosis codes comprises:
 accessing a medical claim history of the member to determine a pattern that indicates existence of a potential chronic disease or chronic condition of the member; and   identifying one or more chronic diagnosis codes associated with the potential chronic disease or chronic condition using the database which includes mappings of chronic diseases or chronic conditions to chronic diagnosis codes.   
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein the sender computer is associated with a healthcare provider and wherein at least one of specialty of the healthcare provider, what other healthcare providers in that specialty often diagnose, and/or an amount of time spent by the healthcare provider with the member is utilized when identifying the set of expected diagnosis codes. 
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein when it is determined that at least one of the set of expected diagnosis codes is not included in the one or more diagnosis codes of the current electronic health claim, and before transmitting the message to the sender computer, the instructions further cause the system to:
 access the electronic medical history of the member;   determine whether any prior health claim associated with the member over a past time period found in the database of health claims include at least one of the previously submitted diagnosis code that is included in the set of expected diagnosis codes;   when it is determined that at least one prior diagnosis code is included in the set of expected diagnosis codes, then transmitting the electronic communication to the recipient computer and not sending the message to the sender computer; and   when it is determined that at least one prior diagnosis code is not included in the set of expected diagnosis codes, then sending the message to the sender computer.   
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein when it is determined that at least one of the set of expected diagnosis codes is not included in the one or more diagnosis codes of the current electronic health claim, the instructions further cause the system to:
 access the electronic medical history of the user to identify past health claims associated with the member and the previously submitted diagnosis codes associated with the past health claims associated with the member; and   determine the set of expected diagnosis codes to include in the message based on at least one of frequency of chronic diagnosis codes found in the previously submitted diagnosis codes, or recency of chronic diagnosis codes found in the previously submitted diagnosis codes.   
     
     
         19 . A non-transitory computer readable medium having instructions stored thereon that, when executed by a processor, cause a device to:
 receive an electronic communication transmitted from a sender computer, wherein the electronic communication is a current electronic health claim comprising one or more diagnosis codes for a patient of a healthcare provider and an identifier for the patient;   determine whether the patient is covered by a health care plan provided by a payor by querying a database of prior electronic health claims using the identifier, wherein the database comprises information from at least one of a plurality of healthcare providers and a plurality of healthcare payors;   identify, responsive to determining that the patient is covered by the health care plan, a set of expected diagnosis codes associated with a chronic disease or a chronic condition of the patient, wherein identifying the set of expected diagnosis codes includes to: i) query the electronic medical history for previously submitted diagnosis codes associated with the patient, and ii) responsive to identifying at least one previously submitted diagnosis code, determine a chronic condition associated with the at least one previously submitted diagnosis code, wherein the set of expected diagnosis codes are mapped to the chronic condition in the database;   determine whether at least one of the set of expected diagnosis codes is included in the one or more diagnosis codes of the current electronic health claim;   when it is determined that at least one of the set of expected diagnosis codes is included in the one or more diagnosis codes of the current electronic health claim, transmit the electronic communication to a payor computer associated with the payor, wherein the payor: i) certifies the risk adjustment data associated with the electronic health claim is accurate, complete and truthful based on the determination that at least one of the set of expected diagnosis codes is included in the one or more diagnosis codes of the current electronic health claim, and ii) submits data associated with the certified electronic health claim to the CMS for reimbursement; and   when it is determined that at least one of the set of expected diagnosis codes is not included in the one or more diagnosis codes of the current electronic health claim, then: i) not send the electronic communication to the payor computer, and ii) transmit a message to the sender computing identifying the expected diagnosis codes.   
     
     
         20 . The computer readable medium of  claim 19 , the instructions further causing the device to track an incident rate for the sender by updating the database to include an indication that the current electronic health claim was missing the at least one of the set of expected diagnosis codes, wherein the incident rate for the sender is compared to incident rates of other healthcare providers to trigger an audit of the sender's practices and procedure.