Evaluation of DeWitt Army Community Hospital's Home-Grown Coder Initiative
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of the home-grown coder initiative on coding accuracy in DeWitt Army Community Hospital's Internal Medicine Clinic. The homegrown coder initiative is a training program designed to teach medical clerks how to code records. The study evaluated the accuracy of the home-grown coders after completion of the first phase of training, which consisted of six weeks of on-the-job training. Previous studies have appraised the difference in coding accuracy between providers and medical clerks, but no studies have been published evaluating the accuracy of medical clerks coding after completion of an on-the-job training program. Sixty patient encounters were included in the provider data set, and fifty-six patient encounters were included in the home-grown coder data set. The data sets were analyzed for variance from a standard established by a certified coder. Between data set variance was also tested for significance. The analysis used the following statistical tools: Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test, Mann-Whitney Test, Chi Square, and Fishers Exact Probability Test. Results showed the home-grown coders to be more accurate in coding Evaluation and Management codes, diagnoses, and procedures. These results indicate that implementation of a home-grown coder initiative will result in improved medical record coding.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 01, 2003
- Accession Number
- ADA421626
Entities
People
- Reva Rogers
Organizations
- Army Medical Department