Are Your ICD 10 Coders Staying Up To Date? How Do You Know? When Is The Last Time You Asked About Changes?
July 21, 2021
Keeping ICD 10 Up-To Date:
Often times agencies have a coder(s) on staff. Therefore, this division of your company often ends up on an "island" to itself. Do those assigned to operations management in your company have a check and balance in place for coding? Most of the time the answer is no. So, in what ways can you support the professional growth and accuracy of your coding staff?
- Support the continuing education for your coding staff: While many agencies leave the CEUs required to maintain certification on the shoulders of the coder, the investment in their education is money well spent. It also keeps the coder engaged in the learning process. If not, then sometimes the education is what the coder can get for the cheapest cost online. This doesn't mean they are getting the quality education you hope to see staff receive.
- Ask questions. Your coders should be keeping up with changes and ongoing guidance. ICD 10 coding staff should be able to talk to you about the frequency in which they look for guidance and where they seek it. Look at what coding issues come up in auditing from CMS. Is your agency at risk? Are coding staff hooked up to a ListServ or discussion forum that help guide practice?
- Have a check-and-balance system for coding. Not only is it good to have a back-up plan in place for surge or when you expect absences from coding staff, It makes sense as a check-and-balance. We have to do on-site competency and supervision to all clinical staff. Why don't we have something in place for coders as a yearly supervision? You may think it is not necessary, but from an operations standpoint, doesn't it make complete sense? Have someone else recode 5 charts and see if things come out the same way. Having an objective eye look at your charts is a good thing. It isn't to question your staff, but to affirm to you and your board of directors that you are checking for quality and ongoing competency in line with other clinical departments. The reality is that agencies have had issues with coding when audits occur. Making sure you are not one of them is positive for your agency.
We Can Your Check And Balance, Back-up, or Coding Solution:
At Kenyon Homecare Consulting,
we have coding solutions that include Oasis review on admission and discharge and full service ICD 10 coding. We can be your back-up plan in cases of surge, expected/unexpected absences, or compliance checks. Call us today at 206-721-5091 or contact us online
to see how we can help you today! Call us today and we will complete 5 free recodes of your charts to help you take the fist step!
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