So I’ve been thinking about all the extra things I use on a daily basis for my job. I’m not talking about coding books or office supplies or anything like that. I’m talking about little things that just make the day a little easier and just more comfortable. Everything included here are products I really use and have purchased myself–but it’s just an honest review. In other words–I don’t make money if you click on a link here and buy the same products. Just wanted to get that out of the way.
Okay the first one is this USB number pad. This might sound weird, but you know when you’re coding, you probably use the keypad numbers on the right of your keyboard. I didn’t find this out until recently but not all keyboards have those numbers there. It might not sound like a big deal, but if your job is inputting numbers…well you kind of need this to be there. I’m using an older laptop for a job now and low and behold…it does not have these numbers on the side. But you can order this USB keypad and voila! Problem solved.
Not sure how many of you out there have to do this, but at the end of a shift, I have to put together a production log. It’s not a big deal–it’s just a list of all the encounters coded for that day. But the problem is, by that point, my hands kind of hurt and are tired. Hopefully I don’t sound like too much of an old lady, but I bought these compression gloves and they really help my hand feel better.
The next most important thing that I need everyday is a decent coffee mug. I know that probably sounds ridiculous, but if you’re anything like me you have to have at least one cup of coffee before opening your first chart to code for the day. The problem with me though is, I have spilled coffee on my books more than I’d like to admit. These books are expensive and not only that, they have to last the whole year. By the end of September, my ICD-10-CM book has pages ripping out a little, the cover is messed up and I know for a fact that coffee has spilled on it at least twice since I bought it. Every year I say that I will try to keep my books in better shape, and one way I do that is by using a travel coffee mug, even if I’m working from home. Obviously there are about a million different ones to choose from, but I’ll post a sample pic anyway.
The next thing I use every day is this portable USB monitor. It’s very good quality for the price and isn’t that hard to set up. What I like about it most is that I can easily unhook it from one laptop and use with another. I wrote a full review on this already–for more info go here.
Okay the last thing that I’ll mention in this post is to get a seat cushion. This might not be necessary if you already have a decent chair, but I don’t. So, I bought this one not too long ago and I really like it.
Anything else? What other things do you use every day as a medial coder?
Thanks for reading,
Lindsay
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Hey Everyone,
So, here’s a question I see posted in different FB groups every once in a while–Will CAC (Computer Assisted Coding) ever replace medical coders? There is a long and short answer. The short answer is No. The longer answer–still No, but there’s more to it than meets the eye.
We all know there are some computer programs out there that make coding easier. These programs pick up on key words in documentation and for lack of better word–the computer ‘codes’ it. But here’s the thing-computers may be good at picking up on key words, but they can’t think. Computers are not aware of coding rules and guidelines, modifiers, excludes 1 notes…etc. So what happens is, the CAC just codes whatever keywords it picks up on, but it may be all wrong because it doesn’t know the rules. Here is what I mean:
Here is another common mistake that I’ve seen on audits done by CAC software. If you’ve coded radiology, you know how radiologists love to say “consistent with.” So, say you’re coding a chest x-ray and the report says, “findings consistent with pneumonia.” According to ICD-10-CM Coding Guidelines, you would not code the pneumonia because it is not definitive (this is outpatient coding, by the way. Inpatient coding has different rules on this). Many times the CAC software picks up on the word “pneumonia” and codes it. That is not how that report should have been coded because of the “consistent with.” It would be coded to the symptoms or a definite finding in the report. So, like I said earlier, CAC does not think. Does not know coding rules.
Everyone knows that coding takes practice, right? I mean it would be really nice if we just woke up one day, and knew how to code all the different specialties. (I admit I still have nightmares about learning how to code E/M).
