When you receive your doctor鈥檚 bill in the mail, it may look like you have a math problem instead of a health problem. Every diagnosis and service rendered at your appointment is listed in detail along with a series of numbers that may as well be a foreign language.
These numbers - known as diagnostic codes - aren鈥檛 chosen randomly by the doctor鈥檚 office to confuse patients. They are, in fact, very important in charting your problem and may be even more important in figuring out how much of the cost your insurance provider will cover.
UL 青涩直播 faculty members Anita Hazelwood and Carol Venable know all about this coding system. They know the set of numbers for an appendectomy. They know the set of numbers if you break your big toe.
They also know how to explain this code to Health Information Management professionals in a manner that is easy to understand. Two of their recent training manuals garnered each a Legacy Award from the American Health Information Management Association for doing just that - providing informative information and ideas in a clear, concise manner.
鈥淏oth of their recent publications are an easy read for office employees while maintaining appropriateness for HIM course instruction,鈥 according to the AHIMA. Industry professionals agree and have made these training manuals top sellers in the HIM field.
鈥淚n order for health information management professionals to use the coding system, they must understand the guidelines that have to be applied,鈥 said Hazelwood, HIM associate professor. 鈥淭hey鈥檝e got to know the coding system and why you pick one code over another. Our manuals explain these guidelines and give examples of the most often occurring cases of miscoding.鈥
Venable explained that proper coding is a necessity for correct insurance reimbursement. 鈥淪o much of insurance reimbursement is tied to coding,鈥 said Venable. 鈥淧roper coding ensures proper payment and helps prevent billing fraud.鈥
Hazelwood and Venable received Legacy Awards during the association鈥檚 annual Triumph Awards ceremony for ICD-9-CM Diagnostic Coding and Reimbursement for Physician Services and Basic ICD-9-CM for Physician鈥檚 Office Coding.
They were two of only six HIM professionals honored nationally for their contributions.
鈥淚t鈥檚 very humbling to be recognized by one鈥檚 peers,鈥 said Venable, head of UL 青涩直播鈥檚 Health Information Management Department. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a huge honor.鈥
Each year, the pair tackle the issue of updating the manuals. Because diagnostic coding changes constantly, updating is mandatory.
鈥淓ach year, additional codes come out,鈥 said Hazelwood. 鈥淪o we have to include these additions in each new edition we author.鈥
The pair noted the new codes are very reflective of what鈥檚 happening in the world at the time. 鈥淣ew codes for this year included bioterrorism, Anthrax and West Nile Virus,鈥 said Venable.
Both faculty members have teamed up again to write a preview manual for the latest coding system - ICD-10-CM - which could be implemented as early as 2005.
The AHIMA described the new book as a practical introduction to the new system. 鈥淚n many ways, ICD-10-CM will be a huge improvement over ICD-9-CM, but implementation will require extensive training for healthcare professionals and coding professionals and students alike,鈥 according an AHIMA review. 鈥(This book鈥檚) expert authors provide a useful way to introduce the system into the workplace with a variety of training and presentation options, including fact sheets, slides and chapter reviews.鈥
Bradd Clark, dean of the College of Sciences, isn鈥檛 surprised by the high praise for Hazelwood and Venable.
鈥淲e鈥檝e known for years that Carol and Anita are outstanding leaders in their field,鈥 he said. 鈥淏ut, an award from your peers is always the warmest accolade of all.鈥