Assessing the Value of Professional Coders in Ambulatory Healthcare Systems
Abstract
Information derived from accurate, current, and complete patient encounter data is an invaluable resource for health care organizations today. Used to support many critical decision-making processes, organizations must strive to produce the highest-quality encounter data possible. This study examines the value of employing certified professional coders to collect encounter data. A comparison of two coding scenarios was conducted: coding completed by health care providers and coding completed by professional coders. Samples of Evaluation and Management codes applied by providers and coders were categorized into frequency distributions and the average standard deviations of these distributions were compared. As much less variation was found among the group of professional coders, it was concluded that they produced more reliable results and, therefore, improved coding data quality. In addition to this comparison, two previous studies that assessed the value of coders in ambulatory health care systems are included. These studies indicate that professional coders produce significant improvements in coding data quality.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 01, 2002
- Accession Number
- ADA420997
Entities
People
- Edward W. Drish
Organizations
- Academy of Health Sciences