How long does coding take?

At our agency the person who codes is also the one who takes in the majority of our new referrals (we usually have about 120 patients on census) AND reviews all Oasis/admission charting. We have an RN in this position. Is yours an RN? I can't imagine why it would take so long unless he has other duties.

That is a very long time for 2 to 3 files. Accuracy is important but I don't think any employer would keep someone on who can only process that little of work. NO offense, just a thought.

renerian

I apologize for the delay in responding.

Yes, he is an RN, in fact, he's touted he has attended several coding seminars in the past and is familiar with the coding process.

This is his only duty so I'm a bit skeptical in how it could take so long to complete one chart. Why is he still here? good question... One of our partners who is "very familiar with the HH industry" and has contacted several of her friends with their own agencies has stated "that's how it is." I've brought up the idea of replacing him but it's fallen on deaf ears. I'm trying to gather my facts to make sure I'm not off base. Thanks for the responses.

At some hospitals, coders must code 20 inpatient charts an hour. For outpatient, coders must code 30 charts an hour.

You can find more information from the American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC), American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA), American Medical Billing Association (AMBA), RN-coder.com, and American Association of Clinical Coders and Auditors (AACCA) websites.

Is he getting paid hourly? Because I can code 10 recert review charts in a day if I'm steady. If the frequency of SNV is 1w9 or qow9 then he's only reviewing 5-8 skilled nursing notes for changes in dx codes.

I failed to mention that coding for home health is geared toward increasing HHRG. PPS changed in January, so finding suitable codes by reviewing SN notes can take a while, but not that long.