Are you planning to hire a certified coding specialist for your medical office? If yes, you have made the right decision. Outsourcing medical coding and medical billing bring many benefits for physicians, practices, and medical offices. But before you hire one, there are certain factors that you must keep in mind.
Important Considerations When Hiring a Certified Coding Specialist
Medical coders are specialists with skills and qualifications to review healthcare records. After reviewing these records, they assign the right diagnostic codes as per the Company standards. Here are the 4 most important things that you must ask the service provider:
1. Education
All medical coders need to have an educational background that shows they have proper certifications to be medical coders. So, ask them what certifications the coder holds. There is nothing wrong with asking the medical billing and coding company to show their medical coder’s certificates. If they hesitate, move on to the next company that is happy to share all these details.
2. Experience
Next, you should see the number of years the service provider has been serving its clients. To be more specific, you should check the experience and background of the certified coding specialist. Experienced coders will always ensure error-free coding of procedures and diagnostics promptly.
3. Customer Reviews
Customer reviews or client testimonials can show you a very clear picture of the reputation of the coding specialist. Therefore, you should go through reviews and testimonials that would be available on the service provider’s website.
4. Detailed Oriented
Before hiring a certified coding specialist, make sure that he is detailed oriented. Medical coders code with the ICD-9-CM codebook. They cannot use encoders and must work to tough deadlines. How can you confirm whether or not they are detail-oriented? You can confirm it by asking their previous clients.
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