The explosion of scientific knowledge that followed World War II brought increasingly sophisticated and complex procedures to the science of medicine. Improvements and refinements in these procedures were constantly developed and utilized, but physicians, in their statements for professional services, found it difficult to explain concisely the differences and refinements in procedures and to distinguish with clarity one procedure from another. Some providers furnished the same description for different services while others furnished different descriptions for the same services. The resulting confusion and uncertainty led to delayed or inequitable payments, creating dissatisfaction among consumers, payers and physicians.

The growing involvement of computers made it apparent that some method had to be devised to describe and distinguish the enormous numbers and kinds of medical and surgical procedures, complaints and diagnoses, so that a code number could be assigned to them to facilitate accurate and rapid determination of the nature and value of the service performed.

Two types of coding systems have thus evolved: the first is Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) and the second is International Classifications of Diseases (ICD).

Coders in India are AAPC (American Association of Professional Coders) certified and have a minimum of 4 years hands on experience. They do the coding for the handwritten physician's diagnosis on the charge sheet.

The coder determines the code to be used following each patient encounter. An AAPC Coder, is extremely careful while coding for patient records. Utmost attention if given to quality to get reimbursement from the Insurance Company for the services rendered by the physician.

Indian coders are skilled and provide high quality results within the stipulated period of time for multi-specialty clients like Cardiology, Radiology, Neurology, Infectious Diseases, Internal Medicine, Pathology and Oncology. The coders are proficient with:

• CPT, ICD-9, and HCPCS coding across various specialties

• Insurance and governmental regulatory requirements

• Payer-specific coding requirements

• Software like ENCODERPRO, CODERITE etc.

How Do You Benefit?