A lot has happened since last month! Our first RAC request has been reviewed with findings returned, and we've now received our second RAC request. It's amazing how much can happen in a month's time.

As I had mentioned last month, our first RAC request consisted of 35 records. I think I almost have memorized our 17-digit RAC request number due to the number of times I've obsessively checked Connolly Healthcare's website each day for the status of our requests.

The following is a breakdown of the MS-DRG's that were included in our first request. Of note, these are targets identified during the demonstration project:

Our records arrived at Connolly Healthcare on Friday, May 28. I started to see updates as early as June 7. Our first determination letters started to arrive on June 17. I have been checking Connolly's website daily to review the status of our records. Often times the "status date" would change on the individual cases. To my surprise, I found that updates were occurring on Saturdays and Sundays as well.

All of our records from this first request now have been reviewed, and we ended up with two cases having findings - and amazingly, one of them was a lower-weighted MS-DRG! At the beginning of the reviews, these records had been updated to show no recovery, but a few days later, that changed. This was a surprising discovery as I was tracking each case online and noting each outcome.

As mentioned, we also received our second  record request. Our first request was dated April 16, and our second was dated June 15. The 45-day window for new requests certainly held true this time around. This second  request however is for only four records, compared to the 35 in the first request. The due date for this second  round is July 30.

The following is the breakdown of the MS-DRG's for our second  request: