5 ways to help evaluate educational opportunities for medical coders
Medical coders are the backbone of today’s medical practices, and an investment in medical coder education is an investment in your bottom line. Why? Medical coders who are well-versed in updated coding regulations and guidelines help you submit clean claims that promote revenue integrity and financial sustainability. Revenue cycle management is a dynamic field in which state-, federal-, and payer-specific rules change frequently. There are also new, revised, and deleted medical codes annually. Even one seemingly innocent error could cost you thousands of dollars or more in lost revenue. That’s why medical coding education is so important.
When it comes to medical billing and coding education, there are many options to consider. In fact, there are so many options that it may be overwhelming to choose one or even a few. How do you know whether the investment will be useful? Can you trust that the medical coding information provided is accurate? What if your medical coding staff don’t learn anything new and it’s a waste of precious time and money? Even if the educational opportunity is free (which many are), you still want to ensure that participation will be worthwhile.
Finding the right medical coding education
The best way to find the right medical billing and coding education for your medical coders is to do a little research. This is true regardless of whether you’re considering medical coding webinars, online courses, trade publication subscriptions, in-person events, and more. Here are five strategies that can help:
1. Read about the instructor. Who is teaching the course, writing the content, or facilitating the discussions? What medical coding certifications do they have? Have they worked in your specialty? How much experience do they have? What makes them uniquely qualified to talk at-length about the topic? Remember: The right instructor can make or break the quality of the medical coding education.
2. If there’s an agenda, review it carefully. The agenda gives you a pretty good idea of what the presenter will—and won’t—cover. A table of contents or course outline works the same way. This information provides valuable insight into whether the medical coding training will meet your needs. For example, if you’re looking for in-depth information about specific medical coding changes for your specialty, but the agenda says the presentation will cover coding updates for all specialties, you might be disappointed with lack of granularity provided. Or if you want information about the basics of setting up a clinical documentation improvement (CDI) program in your medical practice, but the agenda says the presentation will cover CDI tips for certain diagnoses, you might be frustrated with the lack of high-level/operational information provided.
3. Identify the ‘expert level.’ Medical coding training may specify a level of expertise (e.g., basic, intermediate, or expert) or require prerequisite knowledge or courses. This—along with the agenda—gives you a sense of whether your medical coding staff will be able to benefit from the education provided or whether the information may be too basic or too advanced.
With that said, remember that basic medical coding refresher courses may be helpful even when staff possess significant expertise. For example, even though most coders know how to report evaluation and management (E/M) codes, they may benefit from a refresher course on common E/M pitfalls in the event they have unknowingly misinterpreted a long-standing E/M coding guideline resulting in significant undercoding.
4. Consider indirect benefits. Some medical coder educational opportunities may have additional benefits that could make participation worthwhile. For example, a webinar may have several bonus tools of value to you. Or it may give your medical coding staff a valuable opportunity to ask an important question during the live Q&A—something you’d otherwise need to pay separately for through a costly consulting engagement. Other indirect benefits? Medical coder continuing education credits that can help your staff remain credentialed and networking opportunities with other medical practices.
5. Give it a try. If you’re not sure whether to make a big investment, consider trying a smaller, less expensive version of the educational opportunity first. For example, before purchasing an entire library of courses, try one course. Or before sending your medical coders to an in-person conference, consider purchasing tickets for the virtual version of that same event first.
Working with a coding outsource vendor
If you contract with a medical coding outsource vendor, it’s important to ask the following questions:
How often do you provide medical coding education?
On what sources do you rely for this education?
How do you assess proficiency?
A reputable outsource coding vendor should be able to articulate these answers very clearly. Providing high-quality medical coding education should be a priority to ensure accurate and complete medical coding.
Looking ahead
Staying on top of medical coding changes is difficult at best. That’s why investing in medical coding education—or partnering with an outsource vendor that does the same—is important. Learn how edgeMED can help and be sure to check the Healthy Snacks blog for more expert insights, best practices and industry trends.
