The process of Medical Coding is today become a necessity for claiming of bills and for medical reimbursements. Also called by the name of insurance coding, the medical coding process involves assigning of codes to medical diagnoses and various other related health procedures. Thus the medical coders convert the entire physicians note into medical codes that is used by the insurance companies to pay the health care provider. This type of coding actually helps in attaining quick judgment with just a glance. One can see the accurate display of the patient’s entire history and all the different services performed on him.
So what are the different steps in this process of medical coding?
From the hospital, the patient chart is first sent to the medical coding service provider. These medical records usually include nursing documentation, physicians’ documentations, and the patient demographic sheets. Medical coding service providers thoroughly check all these records and within the next 48 hours have to assign appropriate numerical and diagnostic codes to each of the records. These can include,
- E/M level
- CPT codes
- HCPCS ICD-9 codes
- Modifiers
After assigning the codes it will have to be rechecked to see if the right codes have been assigned or if there is any thing that has been overlooked. The coding team thus rechecks the entire documentation and makes sure that all the codes assigned are correct. Checking of the codes is given great important because of the fact that wrong codes could even result in denial of the claim.
These coded records are then returned to the client. Transfer can be by postal mail, e-mail or electronic down load or air shipping. These coded files are now ready for the next step of medical billing. Medical coding is a process that is done along with medical transcription and is today an integral part of the medical billing and medical insurance claim industry. Medical coding projects are frequently being outsourced to offshore locations. Professional medical coding service providers are able to get the work done at quite competitive prices. Countries like India and the Philippines have well trained and experienced coders who are professionally qualified and can get any work done within a minimal turnaround time.
The author of this article is Ricci Mathew of
OSI (
Outsource Strategies International ), a US based company that offers services in
Medical Coding, Medical Billing and
Medical Transcription for clients across the US.
