Basics of Medical Coding

Medical coding is the process of assigning appropriate medical codes for medical diagnosis or symptoms, procedures, and drugs. The diagnoses and procedures are usually taken from a variety of sources within the healthcare record, such as laboratory results, the transcription of the physician's notes, radiologic results and other sources. The entire process is done by a medical coder. A medical coder should update his/her knowledge regarding Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) codes that includes Level I and Level II codes. The Level I codes are the Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes managed by the American Medical Association (AMA) and the Level II HCPCS codes are managed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). A medical coder reads the patient's medical records carefully and extracts information about the disease as well as the treatment offered. He has to appropriately code the diagnoses and procedures after analyzing the patient's records. An accurately coded document speeds up the claiming process and results in quick medical reimbursement. Medical Coding: the Process Involved The medical coding process involves: Hospital/inpatient coding Emergency room e-code evaluation Medical coding audits Payer specific coding DRG/ICD-9-CM coding validations and review Facility/Non-facility RVUs ICD-9 coding based on AMA and CMS guidelines CPT coding Accurate and on time medical coding services from a reliable provider helps streamline the revenue cycle in a healthcare practice and gives healthcare professionals more time to focus on their patients. The medical coding services are found beneficial for all major medical specialties including anesthesiology, internal medicine, physical therapy, gastroenterology, obstetrics, radiology, orthopedics, urology, podiatry, neurology, cardiology, pain management, pathology, pulmonary, general surgery, pediatrics, vascular, psychiatry, osteopath, physical medicine and more. Importance of Medical Coding Medical coding system is widely accepted by medical professionals and is required to claim reimbursement. It contains so much information about medical procedures and medications on which the rates can be decided. Any kind of errors in medical coding (under-coding and over-coding) may lead to claim denials. So, it is best to hire a professional medical coding firm that offers accurate and error-free medical coding services. Quick medical reimbursement is the main advantage offered by accurate medical coding. Hence, these services are essential for doctors and healthcare practitioners to be properly and quickly reimbursed for the services they provide. If you are a medical professional truly committed to offering the best quality patient care, and at the same time are looking for an effective way to avoid claim denials, then it is sensible to hire a reliable medical coding company.