Partners in success
Surgeons are focused on patient care — rightfully so — and as a
result may over- or under-code, provide coders and billers with
incomplete information, be slow to answer queries or simply be
unaware of coding rules. And they sometimes show outright con-
tempt for what we do, treating us as annoying paper-pushers
rather than the strategic partners in practice success we really
are. By following these tips, you'll pave the way for physician buy-
in for your coding and billing process. You'll also cut down the
number of inaccurate claims, get those reports completed and
signed, and put a stop to overcoding and a million other
headaches.
OSM
Mr. Lessinger (harryandmaiaproductions@comcast.net) is a coding
and billing expert for the Portland (Ore.) Veterans Health
Administration Health Care System. He also works as a healthcare con-
sultant and runs medicalcodingsimplified.com.
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