3 ways to improve medical coding speed and accuracy

Three solutions to help simplify the complex medical claims process

In the medical claims process, speed and accuracy have always been critical for swift and accurate reimbursement. However, it’s complicated by the complex process of medical coding. Some common difficulties inherent in submitting medical claims efficiently include the number of steps required and the frequency with which rules are added and changed. Furthermore, the complexity of the ICD-10 code set — with its nearly fivefold increase in the number of procedural and diagnostic medical codes compared to the previous set — can make it difficult for practices to submit claims efficiently and profitably.¹

In addition to staying on top of frequent rule changes and ICD-10 code complexity, medical coders also need to navigate payer-specific quirks, time-consuming and error-prone manual workflows, and other issues. But how to keep mistakes to a minimum and reduce the burden on staff members? Here are three ways athenahealth’s medical billing and practice management software and services can solve the challenges of medical coding and improve medical coding accuracy.

1. The advantages of Ambient Notes documentation for more accurate medical coding

athenahealth’s AI-powered Ambient Notes technology automatically captures the conversation during a patient/clinician visit — from the clinician’s questions and the patient’s responses to the medical exam details. The resulting documentation provides rich and accurate clinical information without the need for time-consuming manual transcription. This reduces guesswork for medical coders and cuts down on the back-and-forth clarifications that can slow down claim submission.

The use of Ambient Notes can also boost coders’ confidence in their work. The clinical narrative for each appointment, including the information needed for ICD and CPT coding, is captured completely and in real time and placed in the patient encounter documentation. That means medical coders can feel more certain they have all the information they need to efficiently and accurately complete the task.

Using Ambient Notes helps to reduce many of the administrative obstacles on the path to reimbursement. Fewer encounter details are missing, fewer queries need to be sent to providers, and ultimately, fewer claims are denied for lack of information. Everyone involved — from the patient and clinician to the medical coder — can benefit from a cleaner, faster claims process.

2. The role of automation in streamlining the medical coding process

Automation can play a big role in simplifying the medical claims process, starting with the medical coding step. For medical coders and practice managers, these medical billing automations mean fewer manual coding checks, lower overhead, and improved accuracy.

With athenaOne®, specific AI-enabled features improve the claims process from step one. Here's a breakdown:²

• Codes are auto-populated based on encounter documentation, increasing accuracy over manual data entry and saving clinicians and billers time by reviewing rather than inputting charges.
• The proprietary rules engine is supported by expert research and AI-enabled payer surveillance, with thousands of rule changes made annually.³ It automatically scrubs claims prior to submission, highlighting potential issues for easy resolution and preventing claim rejections and delays.
• Clinicians can use athenaOne’s Auto Claim Create feature to automatically generate and submit a claim, reducing both submission time and charge-entry lag.

Throughout the charge entry and claim submission process, billing stays accurate and efficient due to intelligent automation and exception-based workflows.

By alleviating coding processes and clearing backlogs, athenaOne Medical Coding Services enable practices to reallocate staff to other essential responsibilities.

3. How athenaOne Medical Coding Services expertly take on coding work

The burden of medical coding can divert clinicians and staff from their core focus of delivering patient care. athenaOne Medical Coding Services provide expert certified coders who take on medical coding on behalf of the practice. Coding services are accurate, timely, transparent, and delivered with minimal disruption, only flagging issues that require a practice’s input.

By alleviating coding processes and clearing backlogs, athenaOne Medical Coding Services enable practices to reallocate staff to other essential responsibilities. This streamlined approach supports greater efficiency, improved financial performance, and a scalable structure for growth. Practices can expand without incurring the overhead costs and challenges associated with hiring, onboarding, and managing an internal coding team – and without sacrificing high standards of care and administrative accuracy.

With athenaOne Medical Coding Services, practices gain a trusted partner that supports both operational and financial objectives. The certified coders support compliance and precision, helping to avoid costly claim errors and delays. It’s all about delivering better coding accuracy, leading to fewer claim denials and faster reimbursement. This allows clinical teams to concentrate on delivering exceptional patient care while coding needs are expertly managed behind the scenes.

Leveraging three solutions to simplify coding

By using athenahealth’s medical billing and practice management software and services, medical practices can significantly improve the quality of their medical coding while dramatically reducing the associated workload for clinicians and staff alike:

• Ambient Notes provides more complete information about the patient encounter to support more accurate coding with fewer questions to the clinician.
• Automation simplifies the coding task for clinicians and billers to reduce administrative work and accelerate claim processing.
• Medical Coding Services wick away the work of coding, delegating it to certified expert coders to deliver accuracy as well as peace of mind.

The medical claims process is complex, but the right tools and partnerships can make medical coding manageable. With the help of thoughtful features such as Ambient Notes, automation, and coding services, medical claims coders and practice managers can navigate the claims cycle with confidence.

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