A brief guide to Medical Coding

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Medical Coding

• a brief guide to

L S Coding Education LLC
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• Health care is a giant industry, made up of
  patients, files, hospitals, doctors, medicines,
  insurance companies, procedures, government
  agencies, tests, forms, and administrators.
• With all that going on, it is important to have a
  way of simply communicating to all the parts
  through all the different pieces of paperwork.
  Thats where medical coding and medical coders
  come into the picture.

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From Patient to Coder

• When a patient visits a hospital, the doctor will
  run tests, create a diagnosis, and then assign a
  treatment. The medical coder will issue a code to
  each diagnosis and procedure.

For example, there is a specific code for a
pigmented mole located on a patients lower back
ICD-9-CM Diagnosis Code 216.5 Benign neoplasm of
skin of trunk, except scrotum
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Medical Codes

• To code a patients file, the coder will review
  the medical providers notes and translate them
  into ICD-9-CD and HCPCS Level I and Level II
  codes. Currently, there are over 13,000 medical
  codes in ICD-9-CD alone. The doctors notes are
  usually a brief description of the exact
  diagnosis and procedure that was administered.

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Insurance

• These codes are then sent to the patients
  insurance company (including Medicare and
  Medicaid) for payment. The insurance company will
  evaluate the codes, and if they are correct and
  are covered by the insurance company, they will
  pay the provider for their medical services.

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Analyzing Doctors Notes

• The medical providers notes are as unique as the
  patients diagnosis. Some notes can be quite
  simple while others can be extremely difficult to
  code correctly. Even some of the commonly used
  codes can fall into gray areas amongst different
  coders.

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Difficult Cases

• Even the most experienced coders may come across
  a very complex or unusual case that can be very
  difficult to interpret. For these types of
  situations, coders will rely on peers and other
  professionals to wade through the nuances of the
  case to determine the proper code.

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Education

• Most coders have their bachelors degrees and
  masters degrees, although it is not necessary.
  What is absolutely required is an extensive
  knowledge of the human anatomy and medical
  terminology. Coders should also be familiar with
  insurance plans and regulations.

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L S Coding Education LLC

• For more information on medical coding education,
  please contact [phone] or visit
  http//cpc.certifiedcodertraining.com/ .
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• If you are looking for a professional and unique
  medical coding program L S Coding and Education
  is the place. Instructor and President, Lynn
  Schoeler, has been providing an AAPC Professional
  Medical Coding Curriculum for over two decades.

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Summary

• With all the facets to consider amongst patients,
  doctors, administrators, and insurance companies
  its no wonder why the health care industry
  needed a fast and precise way to communicate. We
  have put together a brief guide to medical coding
  to reveal what goes on behind the nurses desk.