Audits can be the source of irritation in small and large practices alike.
These necessary evils are often headaches for coders — but they don't have to be. To create a smooth auditing process, consider common misconceptions about the auditing process and discover tips from experts on how to correct them.
Auditing is a process in which select claims are reexamined for accuracy. The types of claims chosen and who conducts the reexamination depend on the parameters of the audit.
Medical coding audits serve many purposes. They provide quality control, improve workflows, and inform future policies and procedures. They also hold coders accountable for productivity, accuracy and communication to help resolve issues, uncover risk and find lost revenue, says Veronica Bradley, CPC, CPMA, senior industry advisor of the Medical Group Management Association in Englewood, Colo.
Below are some corrected misconceptions that coders often have about audits and the auditing process.