Don’t Let Inaccurate Coding Shortchange Your Practice
Inaccurate, careless or overly cautious coding costs medical practices potentially thousands of dollars a year in lost or delayed revenues. Fortunately, there are steps you can take to ensure your practice obtains the revenue it is entitled to receive.
Review How You Code
Most practice management software will allow you to generate coding productivity and utilization reports. What you find from this analysis should help you benchmark your coding practices against state and national norms and tighten your coding practices. Be aware that not every practice has exactly the same patient base, and these differences may account for variations in coding. That’s why you shouldn’t automatically assume that your practice is not accurately coding if your results show that you are coding at higher levels than the majority of other practices.
Keep Accurate Records
Making notes during each patient visit will help you bill more accurately. Taking the time to be clear will avoid headaches down the road.
Stay On Top of Changes
Attending coding refresher courses can help keep you and your staff current with coding practices and any changes that have occurred.
Perform Coding Reviews
Your practice should consider hiring an outside consultant every year or so to review your medical and billing records. The consultant may identify problems and help you put procedures in place that will prevent those problems from reoccurring. A coding review might include:
- A review of your practice’s forms
- An examination of billing, data gathering and other procedures
- A comparison of billing codes with the actual services that were provided
- A review of your practice’s training in coding procedures
Accurate coding helps maximize practice revenues--a goal well worth pursuing in any environment. Please contact us if we can help in any way.
Health Care Commentaries is
provided by Somerset’s
Health Care Team
for our clients and other interested persons upon request. Since
technical information is presented in generalized fashion, no final
conclusion on these topics should be made without further review. For
additional information on the issues discussed, please contact a member
of our Health Care Team. This
document is not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, for
the purpose of avoiding tax penalties that may be imposed on the
Somerset CPAs,
P.C.
3925 River Crossing Parkway, Third Floor
Indianapolis, Indiana 46240
317.472.2200 • 800.469.7206 • FAX 317.208.1200
www.SomersetHealthCareTeam.com
info@somersetcpas.com
