implants and supplies have been ordered and accounted for. And she
can work with the billing and coding folks to make sure the op report
is in order so we can account for every dollar. You need an Elizabeth
at every level.
We have to be financially smart if we are to continue serving our
patients in the best way possible. That includes making sure every
member of your team is pulling in the same direction. From the sur-
geon to the surgical support staff to your colleagues in coding and
billing, everyone needs to be focused on common goals, both clinical-
ly and financially.
Yes, delivering the highest-quality care to our patients is without
question our No. 1 priority, but we also need to fund the delivery of
that care by ensuring the accuracy of every claim we submit. We must
be as energetic and vigilant about nurturing our profits as we are
about caring for our patients.
Quality coding
The importance of quality coding has never been more apparent.
Commercial carriers are reviewing submitted claims more stringently
and denying reimbursements for not including the appropriate proce-
dural code. Then there are deficiencies in surgical documentation.
Whether it's a surgeon not complying with the ICD-10 diagnosis codes,
forgetting to document some of the small but important steps he took in
the course of a procedure, or some other factor, those deficiencies can
bear a price — it could be thousands of dollars per patient — in terms
of delayed (if not lost) revenue.
OSM
Ms. Dodd (vdodd@medarva.com) is a certified professional coder and Mr.
Cox (ccox@medarva.com) is the director of physician recruitment for
Medarva Stony Point Surgery Center in Richmond, Va.
Coding & Billing
CB
2 6 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E • F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 7
