Medical Coder as a Profession - Research Paper Example

Medical r ‎ Medical r As a Profession  Medical coding is a profession that affects everyone once in their life and the complex structured regulations of medical coding are easily capable of driving us crazy. Medical coders are not the people who get in touch directly with the patients. Many times a medical coder is taken same as a medical biller. Their work flows side by side so they have to work closely but the nature of job they do is not same at all. But they are one of those employees of any particular hospital who are responsible for the accurate streaming of clinical information about the patients and their physicians and the patients and their third party payers (McMohan,, 2000). Overview They are like a very essential part of the health care industry and without them the industry cannot operate proficiently. What medical coders do is, whenever a patient receives any service from the physicians, the health care centre that has provided the facility to the patient needs to document the facility or service that they had provided to that particular patient. Then these medical coders receive the documented papers and extract the relevant information from it. Then they need to assign a particular CPT code for every type of medical facility provided. Then these bills are further being preceded by the patient’s medical insurance provider. Approximately, for all these health care facilities provided, there are more than 9000 CPT codes that are assigned. And not only this, the number of ICD codes is over 13500. Whereas, CPT stands for Current procedural terminology and ICD stands for International Classification of Diseases. ICD codes are assigned for the medical diagnosis. The medical coders generate reports after assigning the codes to inpatient and outpatients. The reports are useful for the management purpose in the hospitals, as well as the information is also used compensating the health care providers. These coders are hired by the hospitals themselves. History The history of medical coders dates back to 1347 at the time of Black Death. At that time Sicily was facing the bubonic plague that had even reached to London causing deaths of almost 70,000 citizens of London by 1348 (Taylor, 2009). The plague was not ended at that time, it continued for almost 3 more centuries. At that time there was a London publication that used to publish the number of fatalities caused by this plague on weekly basis. The city government of London then used to trace the disease throughout the city. This is actually the earliest form of medical coding and classification of diseases was the key point that turned up into the profession of what medical coders do today. In 1864, William Farr prepared the first list disease classification but Bertillon Classification has the pride of being the first standard system of disease classification that was implemented internationally and by 1900, over 26 countries around the globe adopted this system. The list of “International Statistical Classification of Disease, Injuries, and Cause of Deaths” was then approved by World Health Organization in 1949. The initial purpose of classification of diseases was to collect accurate data to compare the rate of deaths and births. It was in 1976 that government standardized the procedures of bills for health care centers and it was implanted properly in 1979. Before these bills were put into practice, the health care physicians used to charge the patients according to their own estimates and there was no proper system. Description of Duties The person who specializes as a coder needs to work in various diversifications of codes. There are more than one coding systems that they need to learn. Like CPT was created by American Medical Association, whereas, HCPCS are mostly used by Medicare which stands for Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System codes. And then there is ICD which were developed under WHO. Medical coders have to do detail analysis of patient’s medical history. They should be really good in numbers to keep in mind the codes and apply them efficiently. Medical coders need to have a high school diploma at least and with that should have a certification of CPC (Certified Professional Coder). These certifications help the individuals in getting familiar with the terms related to anatomy, physiology and other medical related terminologies. The knowledge of insurance plans and compliance is very essential for becoming a coder. The association of American Academy of Professional Codes provides training and certifications to elevate the standards of medical coding (McMohan,, 2000). Scope of Responsibilities In the current times of technology and fast paced life, medical coders are high in demand and they have a very brighter future. If a coder is expert in his skills, he can manage the entire business of a single physician. Coders never work alone. There are chief financial officers or information manager to supervise them. It is the responsibility of the coder to gather and enter the coded information into the medical billings database for the statement of claims (Medical and Billing Coding Org., 2012). In certain cases, if the claim is denied by any third source then it is also the responsibility of the coders to investigate and clarify the situation. They also have to deal with the insurance frauds. They may use code generating soft-wares for assistance as there are thousands of codes and it is impossible for a human being to memorize them all. A coder must have the knowledge of translating patient’s medical charts so then he can extract the desired data out of it. As far as the salaries are considered, in 2010, a medical coder’s annual median salary was $32,400 according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Job Trends With the growing population, it is getting difficult for the medical associations to keep a track of people with health related issues. The developments will enable them in keeping a proper and proficient approach. The coders must keep researching about new codes that are being introduced every year. According to statistics, the certified coders can earn up to 17% more than the uncertified ones. The overall management of medical tracking is seems to have a boost in upcoming years with high job availability rate. Code of Ethics of Medical Coders All professional medical coders are required to follow a set of code of ethics, which was developed by American Health Information Management Association. Theses codes of ethics help the field of medical coding in standardizing the professional ethical values. Coder’s performance is judged on the basis of his track record of following the set of code of ethics. Some of the key points of Code of Ethics are: Never change the reported codes for falsification at any cost. The processed information of patients data should include all the elements of health care, like codes for diagnoses and treatment and discharge status) The coder is responsible for the protection confidentiality of health care data. Should be having a committed behavior towards the ethical and legal coding practices (Ed2go, 2014). Professional Organizations for this Profession Medical coders can be employed by physicians whether at their clinic or just like the traditional job location, they may work at the hospital in full time job type. Nowadays, due to technological growth, they can also work from their home as well. The health offices are also one of the places where medical coders are assigned to work. These coders also work at insurance agencies, public and government health organizations (Medical Coder). Future Trends In the future the field of medical coding will be facing so many more regulations as per medical advancements. The advancement in tracking the record of treatment will also increase. Electronic prescription nowadays is a new thing that has started trending already. Overall with all these advancements in technologies will be effective in standardizing the medium of bills and procedures, claims will be handled more successfully and the chances of insurance frauds will decrease as well (McMohan,, 2000). The medical coder’s industry has been facing a lot of changes from the time of its development. This field has never faced a stagnant phase. With the growing knowledge about health and sciences and their related diseases with their treatments, the researches of new codes are also taking place with the passing time. Every year new codes are being added in the coding systems. This seems like a life cycle process that never ends because human beings have been facing health related issues from the time of their advent. Particularly, this field experienced a revolution in itself when computerized systems and electronically transferable claims were introduced. This advancement has brought this field in its new era. Medical coders have now become a significant part of the health care industry. And it is must for the physicians to have a medical coder working for them. Without these medical coders and medical coding system, the medical system of keeping patient’s records would have been a very old-fashioned and lethargic to use. References Aalseth, P. (2005). Medical Coding: What it is and how it Works. NY: Jones & Bartlett Learning. McMohan, J. (2000). History of Medical Coding and Billing. Retrieved from http://www.termpaperwarehouse.com/essay-on/History-Of-Medical-Coding-And-Billing/161052 Medical and Billing Coding Org. (2012). Fast forward: What medical billing and coding will look like in 2020. Retrieved from http://www.medicalbillingandcoding.org Ed2go. (2014). Medical coder. Career Navigator and Resources. Retrieved from http://careers.ed2go.com/medical-coder Medical Coder. ExploreHealthCareersOrg.com. Retrieved from http://explorehealthcareers.org/en/Career/143/Medical_Coder Read More