Uniformity in medical codes will help in billing globally
By Julius Raj Stephen
Medical coding is the process of converting healthcare procedures, diagnosis, services etc. into universally accepted industry standard codes, which are then referred to for medical billing and insurance purposes. Medical coding is an important process in the entire medical billing cycle and plays a vital role in the reimbursement cycle, which ensures that health care providers are paid for the services they provide. Medically-coded charts help the government to maintain a database of health records and statistics that can be used to guide policy makers to draft healthcare policies.
Access to cloud computing and advancement in healthcare Technology has given a chance for medical digitization to take a leap. It has become a necessity to digitize every record and document to ensure ease of access and proper reimbursements.
Coding standards across the globe
Globally two common medical coding classification systems are used namely, the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) and the Current Procedural Terminology (CPT). The International Classification of Diseases is a widely-recognized international system for recording diagnoses. It is the standard diagnostic tool for epidemiology, health management, and clinical purposes defined by the World Health Organization (WHO). This includes the analysis of the general health situation of population groups. It is used to monitor the incidence and prevalence of diseases and other health problems, providing a picture of the general health situation of countries and populations.
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