Your healthcare organization relies on accurate records in order to function. This is true in every aspect – from patient care to payment. Over the past few years, there have been a number of changes in healthcare which require absolute compliance to regulations. What does this mean for your organization? Man hours. It means that employees will need to constantly update their knowledge of current and new changes to meet the regulatory requirements necessary to continue to perform at the highest level.
Medical coding is an important aspect of your organization’s administration needs. First, and most obvious, without accurate medical coding, you can’t get paid by insurance companies or other third party entities. Under coding and over coding are both issues which can cost your organization revenue. While there are options for appeal when mistakes are made, the appeals process can be lengthy and time consuming. Fiscally, it’s ideal to make sure that the coding is done absolutely accurately the first time.
Many organizations handle their own medical coding, but this means having staff devoted largely to the task of coding. In a smaller operation where you might have administrative personnel handling multiple functions, medical coding errors might be far higher. Outsourcing this function can improve accuracy and free up employee time to better concentrate on the task of caring for your patients.
Benefits to Outsourcing Your Medical Coding:
1. Accuracy:
Outsourcing to a company that specializes in medical coding means that your coding needs will be met with absolute accuracy. Office personnel who don’t specialize in coding will have more trouble learning and updating their knowledge on current codes. Professionals whose expertise is in coding are better trained to understand the medical coding needs and avoid errors.
2. Education:
Outsourcing means that every person who works with your medical coding will be certified. You can expect that your medical coding staff has up to date knowledge on all coding changes and will have experience working with all of the coding needs your organization faces.
3. Oversight:
Your organization will be able to oversee your medical coding projects at all times. Many people fear that outsourcing takes control of the task away from the organization. To the contrary, outsourcing means that you’re delegating those tasks to an expert staff which also answers to your organization as a whole. You will be afforded analytics and reports which allow you to better understand current and past performance so that you can better estimate the success rate of the medical coding tasks.
This also allows you to pinpoint areas which may cause denials. For instance, if a high rate of denial seems to stem from one physician or department, you might easily pinpoint a problem in documentation in that area so that it can be corrected internally.
4. Efficiency:
Outsourcing your medical coding means that your organization’s staff can concentrate on other areas of your business. It’s a better delegation of resources to have staff devoted to specific areas which they master. It insures better care for patients and a more productive environment for staff.
5. Quality Assurance:
The Company you outsource your medical coding to should provide quality assurance. This means that they can show that they are in compliance with regulatory needs and can provide proof that they regularly inspect their process to maintain the highest quality.Outsourcing your medical coding needs means that you will be delegating the task to an experienced and certified staff. It can save your organization countless hours of training and labor, as well as improving coding accuracy.
