Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Medical Coding / Billing and H.C.P.C.S

Medical coding/ billing is today one of the 10 fastest-growing allied health occupations. Medical coding and billing professionals are responsible for submitting the proper documents to the various insurance companies and federal agencies for reimbursement of the medical expenses. Medical coders use special codes to specifically identify outpatient and also inpatient procedures / services and this is very useful for billing of both private as well as public insurance companies.

HCPCS stands for Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System. It is a set of health care procedure codes based on the American Medical Association's Current Procedural Terminology (CPT). See the official website of HCPCS at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/MedHCPCSGenInfo

Established in the year 1978, HCPCS provides a standardized coding system for describing the specific items and services provided in the delivery of health care. This type of coding ensures that insurance claims are processed properly and is needed by Medicare, Medicaid, and other health insurance programs.

HCPCS codes exist in two levels.

Level I is numerical and consists of the American Medical Association's Current Procedural Terminology (CPT)
Level II codes are alphanumeric and meant for non-physician health services.

It is very essential for medical coders to keep in touch with the latest codes and changes. This is possible by the use of HCPCS books that contain the complete lists of HCPCS Level II codes with descriptions and guide the medical coder through current modifiers, code changes, additions and deletions.

Outsource Strategies International (OSI) is a US based medical transcription company that offers outsourced services in medical coding, medical billing and medical transcription for clients in the US and worldwide.

Labels: HCPCS, Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System, medical billing, Medical Coding, medical transcription