Coding

Answer: Yes!

Employment: varies across country if one is not certified as coder. Some facilities will hire, many hospitals and Home health going to certified coders only.

Our home health agency intake RN's and clerks assign primary and secondary ICD 9/10 codes based on referral information received and primary reason for home care. Field staff RN and PT verify Primary diagnosis, prioritize other diagnosis --none of these are certified. Our Utilization Review/coders then do final review and lock down home care OASIS assessment and plan of treatments after chart reviewed with info confirmed against ICD codes; they will re-prioritize codes as needed to reflect patient care needs and maximize reimbursement: they are all certified home health coders.

Inappropriate coding affects financial performance of Home Health agencies and hospitals greatly as many nuances can affect $$$$ paid for services rendered, not as severely in SNF and hospice environment in my experience.