Medical coding is also known as insurance coding. It refers to assigning codes to medical procedures and diagnosis. All it does is translating the medical observations made by the doctors while diagnosing a patient into alphanumeric codes. These codes explain which procedure was followed by the doctors while treating the patient. This helps in claiming financial reimbursement of patient from the financial companies. As it is well known that the medical terms are not understandable to laymen, hence it is important to get the medical coding done to get the exact financial amount from the insurance companies.
A person who performs the process of medical coding and decoding is known as administrative medical specialist or medical coder. He (or she) goes through an initial training and is certified after passing an exam. Medical coders are employed by hospitals, laboratories, clinics, surgical centers and health agencies. A medical specialist needs to pay extra attention while performing the task of coding because it is on the basis of these codes that the insurance company will be able to correctly reimburse the patient.
Although medical codes are usually used for making claims, but the information in such codes is used, even long time after getting the reimbursement, for proper diagnosis. Following are a few points that reflect the importance of medical coding:
- Correct reimbursement
If you have recently undergone any medical treatment, you can claim the reimbursement from your insurance company. Before making the claim, make sure that you have got the medical coding done. Proper medical coding means proper billing. If your medical coding is correct, it will help the billing expert to generate the correct bill which in turn will help you in claiming the exact amount.
- Worldwide acceptance
Medical coding is vital while making the claim because it has complete information regarding what all procedures followed during your treatment and it also helps in deciding the correct amount of reimbursement. Medical coding is now universal standardized.
- Easy and quick reimbursement
For an easy reimbursement, it is important to get the coding done. Without this coding it would become difficult to understand the medical procedures followed by doctors or physicians which would in turn make it difficult for you to claim the reimbursement. On the other hand, if you have medical coding, you could easily decide the amount and make the claim.
- Quick reimbursement
The medical treatment might have been very costly and it is due to this reason that people want quick reimbursement. Quick reimbursement ensures that the medical condition of the person is maintained. If it does not happen, a person might become financially unstable. Therefore, in order to get quick reimbursement so as to maintain the financial condition it is very important to have proper medical coding.
Thus, while claiming the reimbursement from the insurance company, it is necessary to prove the value of amount claimed. If you have medical coding, you can use it as your proof. This shows how important it is to have a medical coding. It is the primary thing required to make the claim.
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