Hospital Reimbursement

Chapter 11

Coding

Introduction

The coding of a patient’s medical chart is a technical, complex process that is unique to healthcare. Also referred to as medical records or health information management (HIM), coding is often perceived as the most perplexing aspect of the hospital revenue cycle due to the various terminology and jargon used to transform what was performed on the patient into a billable invoice. Coding is a vital component of hospital reimbursement since capturing the appropriate amount of revenue significantly affects the hospital’s ...