4 Tips to Chart a New Coding Course Beyond the Pandemic
It’s been estimated that 50% of procedures currently performed in the hospital before the pandemic could be moved to an outpatient facility. Although it is likely that hospitals will experience a brief surge in patient procedures when the pandemic subsides, long-term there will likely be a significant loss in elective volume to the ASC and physician office. This is where HIM leaders have an opportunity to chart a new course for cases and coding teams.
With a positive change in mindset, there is a real opportunity for HIM and coding teams to not only survive, but prosper!
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Change perspective
Sticking to traditional approaches to hospital-based coding volume must be critically reviewed. The pandemic may be just the shock needed to produce a long overdue review and change in the approaches of inpatient, outpatient and ASC coding services.
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Evolve with the trends
Expect continued erosion of hospital procedural volume to ambulatory facilities. Adopting an aggressive plan to expand coding into the ASC and office-based procedure arenas is essential.
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Incent your team
Consider incentives that reward improvements in coding quality, efficiency, and productivity.
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Govern wisely
Build a new multidisciplinary collaborative leadership model to develop a new coding workflow. This includes stakeholders from inpatient, outpatient, ambulatory and other departments depending on your hospital’s case mix. It should function as the HIM-sponsored ‘board of directors’ for mapping out a new coding process.
KIWI-TEK is your coding authority – we provide inpatient and outpatient medical coding services. Find out more about our medical coding services or contact us for more information.