The Medical Coding industry was worth more than 12 billion USD in 2018 and is expected to reach double, i.e., over 24 billion by 2025 by achieving a CAGR of over 10 percent from 2019 to 2025. These stats and growth numbers are enough to lure any job seeker into trying medical coding as a profession and having a share of the incredible growth that is bound to happen.

If the lucrative industry has also tempted you and you wish to make a career in it, then you must learn about 7 medical coding mistakes you must avoid becoming a successful coder who delivers perfection all the time.

1. Upcoding

If patients are billed for services not performed or the procedure performed was simpler than what was done, it is categorized as upcoding. As upcoding leads to an inflated bill, it is wise to avoid it to get more money because it’s illegal and can land you in jail.

2. Undercoding

Skipping codes or showing less than the procedures done is known as undercoding. It is the opposite of upcoding and is also illegal. Many people do it to avoid audits or reduce the bill of the patient.

3. Mismatching the Codes

To ensure correct medical coding, it is essential that the diagnostics and treatment codes match flawlessly. If the diagnosis doesn’t prove the need for a medical procedure, the claims can be denied.

4. Wrongfully Reporting Injection Codes

Some coders report multiple units of code for one session that involved administering of various injections. This is an incorrect approach. Only one code needs to be reported in such cases.

5. Not Presenting Documentation

When reporting unlisted codes, you must ensure that there is proper documentation because if there is a lack of documentation, it can lead to rejection of claims too.

6. Being Too Comfortable

You must have heard of the term “know it all.” Some coders think that they know it all within a few years of being on the job. The result, they end up assuming the right codes rather than checking them. This leads to blundering mistakes and wrong coding.

7. Not Focusing on Demographic Data

The demographic data of patients is essential for every medical coding report. If the data is not there or there is a mistake in data like age, date of birth, address or sex are incorrect, it can also lead to a lot of problems.

The Aim

After reading all these points, you must know that the aim of medical coding should be to ensure that the claims are processed seamlessly and all the people’s whose money is due to get it. The lower the rejections, the higher would be the coding success.

Get the Right Codes Every Time

Now, if you think that medical coding is too tedious, you can outsource it to us, the team of Win Healthcare. We have a skilled team of coders who remember and avoid all the abovementioned mistakes. We also have a quality check system in place that ensures coding errors, if any are eliminated before the delivery to the client. Sounds interesting? Call us for more!

Sources

• https://www.beckersasc.com/asc-coding-billing-and-collections/avoid-these-5-medical-coding-mistakes-or-risk-losing-thousands.html
• https://www.medconverge.com/2018/10/12/dont-make-these-common-medical-coding-mistakes/
• https://www.medirevv.com/blog/4-common-medical-coding-mistakes-and-how-to-prevent-them
• https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2019/04/01/1790749/0/en/Global-Medical-Coding-Market-Will-Reach-USD-24-72-Billion-By-2025-Zion-Market-Research.html