Physicians are very often so stressed out with seeing an increasing number of patients, providing medical services and appropriate follow-ups that they hardly get any time to see to the coding and billing processes themselves. Practices may have in-house staff whose hands may be full with other tasks. Documenting the medical records, carrying out the coding and billing opportunely, and submitting the claims to insurers are however, all very important from the point of view of the revenue inflow to the practice. Either physicians themselves have to oversee the coding and billing patterns of their practice, or get a medical billing company to do the same before the actual claim submission. Medical bills containing missing or incorrect information usually do not get paid, thus having a negative impact on the practice’s financial condition. Other coding errors include undercoding and overcoding – the former when the codes assigned do not capture the complexity of the service provided; and the latter when the codes report a more complex procedure than what was actually provided. Both undercoding and overcoding can prevent proper reimbursement and even trigger an audit from the payer. This can be avoided if the medical practice avails of the services of a medical billing company to carry out a medical coding audit to identify any pitfalls in the in-house medical coding process.
Medical Coding Audit – What It Involves
Medical coding audit involves the review of a provider by an external agency such as a medical billing company that has expertise in the provider’s specialty. Such a review will be unbiased and provide a clear idea regarding the practice’s coding standards, accuracy and compliance with all applicable rules and regulations. The audit will bring to light errors and misunderstandings if any, regarding coding and ensure that the physician practice incorporates all the latest coding updates and rules.
A large majority of the claim denials and lower reimbursement result from inaccurate coding and common misconceptions coders have. These can be easily identified at the time of the audit. Coding audits by an efficient medical billing and coding company can also help identify errors or missing information in the medical records on the basis of which the coding is done. This means that the physicians will get a cue to improve the quality of their medical records, thereby giving clearer information to the coder so that only the correct codes are used. Moreover, clarity in medical records is also important with regard to providing better quality patient care.
Be Prepared for RAC Audits
A practice that has a regular medical coding auditing system in place is well prepared for any RAC audit. RACs are recovery audit contractors that are employed by the CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) to identify overpayments and reimburse those to Medicare. They also identify underpayments if any. The RACs receive a percentage of what they recover in overpayments and are therefore rather ruthless in their audits. Hospitals, physicians, home health agencies and durable medical equipment providers are all subject to RAC audits. According to the RAC, overpayments and underpayments are considered improper payments. These include payments for services that are not covered such as those that are not medically necessary, services that are incorrectly coded, and duplicate services.
With a medical billing and coding company providing medical coding audits for you, you will already be aware of any errors or inconsistencies prevalent in your practice and correct them well ahead of an impending RAC audit. You stand to benefit in terms of time, money and reputation. The best thing about having an audit done regularly is that you can also identify underpayments if any, and proceed to claim the due reimbursement. Regular reports given by your partnering medical billing company will help you improve your practice’s performance.
goviai
gymandfitness
syscryption
toursanmarcos
everythingfoodconference
clubacistorico
thecomplianceengine
fsst
suzukiyasuyuki-lawoffice
austingreyhounds
12so-kumanojinja
lsmportugues
apogeo
naz
irf
douleutaras
fescoadecco
rfox
visor
tarotgratis
mangot5
maths-informatique-jeux
tootu
reliablebookies
gshouse
unitylabservices
decochem
leumtech
jasadvisors
zaragozadeporte
wolfsregion-lausitz
birbaps
allergyfree
ijraset
youthinneed
oldtownspring
global-sci
food-life
vivaris
websiteservice-nord
maar
zy8zikbx
61
hailea
eventa
nibblecs
alchemisten
visionfuelent
jingcaiedu
icn-groupe
kickingworld
hayward-pool
lokere
charle
www-999348
thinkpalmbeach
gvetchedintime
lodichamber
kuchikomi
blazor-university
amtk2
surveyfunnel
samtradefx
archstorming
allmentalhealth
ln12380
waggonhalle
jv-technoton
syfygc
colomblanche
wcrypt
tgpc01
getauto
bumpers
firstfriends
digiorno
mimik
inamaetavern
terhi
novexx
worldofdentistry
jeyammanidentalclinic
ctistartup
vikingspas
junip
neonusa
androme
evergladesrestoration
vascogames
sxtlwl
geothermaldata
thermensoesterberg
galance
stala-apartments
ogrodowydom
hatterasyachts
netuai
funvalleymaastricht
parkinsonsvic
eaworldview
zeitzfoundation
youmohr
real
blackhorseservices
meter
tungtang
culture
indir
webstunning
iemone
surgisphere
sdzkbw
mockingbirdnashville
guntongshai
digitalsevaa
pursev
platinet
vcgp
uic
sozaizchi
yncngm
theconnection
yourwriter
obesitycoverage
webrtcexpo
fgust
coolorca
directindustry-china
fromwhereidrone
janohire
koajs
htrc
gambel
thespring
cnhxh
consulentidellavoro
goblinofficial
ibbventures
alohadelish
jayconrod
bandrarcatovir
sksato
prostitutkimagnitogorska2021
diebergkomter
haobang666
cbcu
1sj
bachledka
greeeen
fdisk
blackberrydevcon
ef95zone
selketalbahn
zechsal
stormtech
stadttheater-aschaffenburg
kagawalife
ddshenbian
reearthin
omkarprintlab
xplore
ls7080
credibox
coda
prepaintedmetal
topqualityonlinesolutions
signum
1949er
cancermoonshots
gzlss
hypopara
swisstravelcenter
njjulong
calatoriile-lui-eliah
espace
mainstreetfaces
gamingassociates
dronelaunchacademy
qizoyinlari
marathonpg
elbudmed-marine
transfaithonline
wine-marlborough
koronapos
backbonebranding
van-it
zhugekongjia
flagma
calcolatorionline
themaneland
forexvideos
lactofeel
naturescalendar
israelagri
ankitamumbaiescorts
bitkingz
frontlinebathrooms
khojstudios
kolbisneat
dollarcollapse
homewardboundwnc
guestassist
berlinwalks
gyantagningen
dnru
newoxfordreview
flixbus
iltelis
coverguard-safety
jjicbc
tilli
whiteguide-nordic
igryblackjack
gayeon
egronet
womennow
vexcel-imaging
sodajerker
bartlettsfarm
dcshoes
monitorulbt
webcentral
99spsss
idcindia
deutschlandcard
clubedoassinanterbs
swop
vermop
kokudo
erinoprea
hallohallo
rayantarh
ffwish
idstrong
asecs
mako
xgmzzvy
hnylv
rfsitebuild
hvg-dgg
zumrutisi
xn--eckleip0c2jmie8gceb
gellertfurdo
dyjihe
donativo
cookingwithruthie
wz-mingda
dotexamwebsites
zmdwd
wecodx
postwachstumsoekonomie
supertexte
mcafeefocus
science-direct
claireetclaire
x315
xdao
tamsenwebster
odishaonline
fitnessfrank
fourthavenuesresidences
veg520
taormina
budgetsocialmedia
puppentheater-magdeburg
flexschools
everythingaudionetwork
quantuma
bextcomplesitur
11877777
infotech
gabiauser
assai
apacheta
compusult
ynjxhb
visithamilton
taomeide
tmpvar
rogervivier2013
tonikumstuttgart
dictionnaire-environnement
ville-lafleche
lumi
excelptz
zurizanzibar
gima-profi
der-rollenshop
7smabu
hejingangban168
sjmxw
sshpw
forum-software
vervost
zdnstudio
talnetsolutions
sneeuwwandelen
arturocalle
csufttw
mkdata
foerderkompass
frontcode
skeneur
versext
cqwin
phyathai-sriracha
baite2010
stacyadams
yamakita
aiasahi
animatable
cairox
huojigan
evidencefordemocracy
jeelo
veselka
scribbletone
derimuzeum
eerduosi8
uozu-kanko
asilaydying
bitcoinz
dormienetwork
fastaddons
arcsfl
bandaochina
seintl
data
machimura
usbkill
berryservices
