The process starts either with entering or auditing of the patient Demographic information, when the charting is still done on paper. In cases where an EHR (Electronic Health Record) or HIM (Hospital Information Management) system is used, then the Demography information automatically gets ‘pulled’ into the Billing system and only an audit might be required.
The next step which is critical to the whole process is medical coding. Medical coding is the process of assigning Diagnoses (ICD) and Procedure (CPT) codes. In addition, there are other codes used such as the HCPCS (Hospital and supplies) and ASA (Anesthesia) codes and ADA (Dental) codes. e-care is one of the few medical coding companies located offshore that has got many of its medical coding staff complete the online ICD-10 CM certification.
On completion of the medical coding service, the next step is to enter the charges for the coded encounters. The charges vary by payer and also by location (county specific), in addition to being unique for each service or procedure done by the physician.
