What is Medical Coding?
Medical coding is the change of healthcare diagnosis, techniques, medical services, and equipment into universal medical alphanumeric codes. The diagnoses and procedure codes are taken from medical record documentation, such as transcription of doctor’s notes, laboratory and radiologic results, etc. Medical coding professionals help ensure the codes are applied correctly during the medical billing process, which includes abstracting the data from documentation, assigning the appropriate codes, and making a claim to be paid by insurance carriers.
Medical coding happens every time you see a healthcare supplier. The healthcare supplier reviews your complaint and medical history makes an expert assessment of what’s wrong and how to treat you and documents your visit. That documentation is not only the patient’s ongoing record, it’s how the healthcare provider gets paid.
Medical codes translate that documentation into standardized codes that tell payers the following:
- Patient’s diagnosis
- Medical necessity for treatments, services, or supplies the patient received
- Treatments, services, and supplies provided to the patient
- Any unusual circumstances or medical condition that affected those treatments and services
Why is Medical Coding Needed?
The healthcare revenue stream is depending on the documentation of what was learned, decided, and performed.
A patient’s diagnosis, test results, and treatment must be documented, not only for repayment but to guarantee high-quality care in future visits. A patient’s personal health information follows them through subsequent complaints and treatments, and they must be easily understood. This is particularly important considering the hundreds of millions of visits, procedures, and hospitalizations annually in the United States.
The challenge, however, is that there are a large number of conditions, infections, wounds, and reasons for death. There are also thousands of services performed by suppliers and an equivalent number of injectable medications and supplies to be tracked. Medical coding classifies these for easier reporting and tracking. And in healthcare, there are multiple descriptions, acronyms, names, and eponyms for each disease, procedure, and tool. Medical coding standardizes the language and presentation of all these elements so they can be more easily understood, tracked, and modified.
How is Medical Coding Done?
After settling into the office and grabbing a cup of coffee, a Medical Coder usually begins the workday by reviewing the previous day’s batch of patient notes for assessment and coding. The type of records and notes depends on the clinical setting (outpatient or facility) and may require a certain degree of specialization.
Choosing the top patient note or billing sheet on the stack, the coder starts evaluating the documentation to understand the patient’s diagnoses assigned and procedures performed during their visit. Coders also abstract other key data from the documentation, including doctor names, dates of procedures, and other data.
Coders rely on ICD-10 and CPT® codebooks to start translating the physician’s notes into valuable codes. An example of basic procedure documentation and subsequently assigned codes can be seen below.
Numerous cases are simple to code. Individual Medical Coders build up a detailed understanding of the procedures and commonality of their specific clinic or facility.
Coders occasionally encounter a troublesome note requiring in-depth research, taking more time to code correctly. Even among the more commonly used codes are significant gray areas open for examination among coders.
With very unpredictable or strange cases, coding guidelines may be confusing to interpret. Experienced coders will depend on their network of peers and professionals to discuss nuances in online forums, networking with specialists they have met at national conferences, or consulting with co-workers to help understand the issue and determine the proper codes.
Medical Coding Salary and Growth Expectations
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) categorizes medical coders under “Medical Records and Health Information Technicians.” This term refers to everyone that reviews patient files, organizes patient data, and assigns medical codes for insurance repayment (among other things).
This entire job category—including medical coders—is predicted to grow 11% between 2018 and 2028. This is “much faster than average” than other occupations, which is due, in part, to an aging population.
Valued at $15.2 billion in 2019, the global medical coding market is projected to witness a CAGR of 9.6% during the forecast period (2020–2030). Pay varies for medical coders, depending on where you work. In 2020, the median salary for a medical coder was between $37,520 and $46,470.
GoLogica is offering Medical Coding Training. Medical coding is one of the booming technologies in the market today; it is very hard to find proper Medical Coding classes online. GoLogica presents the best Medical Coding training in Bangalore to fill this gap with full classroom training. With the immense growth in technologies, there is a rise in the need for coders in the medical field. Around 80% of companies are struggling with non-qualified resources with Integrations.
At the end of this course, you will receive a course completion certificate that certifies that you have successfully completed GoLogica training in Medical Coding technology. You will get certified in Medical Coding by clearing the online examination with a minimum score of 70%. To help you prepare for a certification exam, we shall provide you a simulation exam and a practice exam.
