Fostering a positive relationship between your Coding Department and the providers they support

Medical coding and documentation requirements have become more complex and time consuming than ever before, and physician practices of all types must comply in order to receive proper reimbursement for the services they provide. These additional and ever-changing demands come from many different entities and are largely seen as an unwelcome complication by physicians. This can quickly result in tensions between Coding Department staff, who assume the lead role in delivering this information, and physicians who must incorporate additional coding concerns into their overburdened workflows. Our primary care physician group acknowledged the issues this created and worked to redefine the relationship between the Coding Department and physicians. Our practice reevaluated the manner in which coding related matters were viewed and presented to providers. This paper details the process and steps our group practice followed to create a collaborative environment with a new focus on physician support to achieve coding conformity in the best interests of the practice.