Medical Coding

Medical coding is the process of maintaining records of the patients and their history. It is a practice that began in England during the early 17 century. With the development in science and technology, medical coding has increased its potential and has been drastically evolved and transformed. Medical coding conducts the transfer of health care diagnosis, process, and other similar services with medical information and alphanumerical units. 

Medical coding is the process of transforming the medical information of a patient into the simplest format by making use of coding knowledge. It will help in storing the medical records for future references along with medical expenses.

There is a variety of medical coding in the present world that is used for varied purposes. Some of them are as follows:

• ICD codes: 

The International Classification of Diseases also known as ICD codes is designed to classify and segregate the different systems of diagnosing the disease. It also possesses a detailed division of a wide range of symptoms, abnormal discovery, complaints, issues, complications, social conditions along with other injuries. 

The ICD system is created in link with the World Health Organization (WHO) along with ten global health centers to offer the best reports and data to physicians and medical examiners. 

• HCPCS codes:

The Healthcare Common Procedure Coding Systems also known as HCPCS has two levels of coding system that is popularly used in the United States. The major use of HCPCS is to help with the billing process of Medicare and Medicaid patients. 

The HCPCS possesses a collection of varied codes that denote a particular process, supply, product, and services that are offered to an individual in a private health insurance system. 

• DRG codes:

The DRG or Diagnosis Related Group is a system that is used for dividing the cases in a hospital into almost 500 different groups. It generally has a similar hospital resource and is used by the insurance company to pay for its users. All the DRG code elements must be highly accurate as they will be used for further medical processes. 

• Modifiers: 

A CPT Modifier is used for offering supplements or additional information regarding the care details to provide certain additional details regarding the process and services provided by a physician. The modifier also provides the code for the process without altering its definition. 

Many other similar types of codes are commonly used for modifiers. These codes contain two digits alphanumeric characters that offer additional data regarding the medical procedure that was followed with the patient. It is used to state the varied parts of the process that is conducted in the body of the patient. 

Some of the top technical skills that are required for medical coding are as follows:

• ICD-10
• Health information technology
• CPT Coding
• Impatient coding
• ICD-9
• HCPCS coding
• Customer billing
• Clinical documentation

Medical coding is a very prospective career that will offer a wide range of opportunities to grow and progress. It is the future of medical science and is very useful in the medical industry to help with the treatment of patients.