Wiki Do Your Surgeons Select Their Own Surgical Codes (CPT)?

[ccaldewey]

I'm trying to get an idea of how common or uncommon it is for surgeons to select their own CPT codes. This can include codes that are then reviewed by coders or auditors for accuracy prospectively or retrospectively.

 

[csperoni]

I responded as some of them. In my very large healthcare organization, almost all providers, almost all specialties, are fully responsible to do their own coding - all visits, all procedures. There are certain specialties, and certain practices that have coders to either review the provider's selection or code from scratch. But the overwhelming majority are expected to do it themselves. My personal opinion is that is often not the best use of a clinician's time, nor are most of them trained enough to do so. I believe the use of coders should be an option for providers, just like the use of scribes. The additional staffing expense should be allocated to the practice, but if a coder is doing it better and following coding and carrier guidelines, then 1) you are more compliant, 2) you will receive more accurate reimbursement for the provider's work and 3) you will have fewer denials.

 

[Cmama12]

I work in a very large healthcare organization as well. It seems they have a choice, as there are a few that never choose their own codes, but the majority do. In the latter case, these are always reviewed by coders.

 

[cgaston]

Also some of them. For the same reasons as Cmama12