3 Ways Healthcare Companies Can Improve Their Medical Coding Accuracy

Whether you run a regional hospital network or an individual medical practice, one thing is for sure: medical coding is important. A crucial part of the documentation and insurance process, medical codes need to be consistent, organized and accurate. Today, we’ll be discussing how to improve the latter.

If you’re a healthcare company looking to improve the accuracy of your medical coding, here are three tips to consider:

1. Hire Medical Coders with Multiple Certifications

The only thing better than a medical coder who is professionally certified? A medical coder with more than one professional certification. In fact, when it comes to certifications, the more you have, the better. Medical coding certifications are tangible proof of valuable skill sets. So whether you want your medical coders to have medical billing knowledge or you think a particular coder is management material, certifications are the way to go. 

2. Perform Regular Medical Coding Audits

There also needs to be someone completely monitoring the coding process. Audits can also streamline the process, making it more efficient from the moment the patient is diagnosed to double-checking insurance results. Whether you hire an outside company to perform regular audits or you bring a Certified Professional Medical Auditor (CPMA) in-house, this small change can dramatically improve the efficiency and accuracy of your medical coding. Even if you do have an auditing system in place, consider tweaking it or making it more frequent.

3. Stay Up-To-Date on Medical Coding Best Practices

From books and technology to research and referencing, there are best practices out there that your medical coding team should be utilizing. If it’s been a while since a team member has taken a medical coding course, now might be the best time to do it. Or, perhaps your team could benefit from medical coding flip books or medical coding books that will make their everyday tasks easier? However you decide to do it, staying up-to-date on medical coding best practices can help with your coding accuracy.

Ensure your existing and potential employees have the tools needed to be as accurate as possible by enrolling them in one of our medical coding courses today.

Editor’s note: This post was originally published in November 2020. It has been updated for clarity, accuracy and new information.