AHIMA Standards of Ethical Coding, Essay Example

As a coding supervisor, it would be important to emphasize the importance of the Standards of Ethical Coding. It would be imperative to include these standards in a policy and procedure manual so that my employees would be able to constantly refer to them during field practice (AHIMA House of Delegates, 2008). Since the Standards of Ethical Coding include many requirements, it would be valuable to have them readily accessible to answer any questions that employees may have regarding coding practices. Since health information management systems are becoming more commonplace, it is likely that a majority of staff members will be required to receive this ethical training. In particular, it is important to emphasize the application of complete and consistent codes to health care data to ensure that the information is stored and used properly. However, as a supervisor, it would be necessary for me to provide my staff with the training necessary to accomplish these means. Therefore the success of ethical coding depends not only on the employees, but the care and diligence with which the supervisory staff prepares employees to meet these ethical standards.

Providing employees with a comprehensive understanding of the Standards of Ethical Coding would require that the standards be reviewed on a regular basis (Advance Healthcare Network, 2009). New employees should be required to engage with the standards bimonthly and experienced staff members should be required to visit a training seminar at least once per year. Furthermore, assessments should be provided at the end of training sessions to ensure that required employees have mastered the skills necessary to participate in ethical coding practices. A certificate can be assigned to each individual to denote their successful completion of the training.

If it is found that a coder has violated the Standards of Ethical Coding, it would be necessary for them to receive a warning in addition to the appropriate training necessary to rectify the problem. However, if these standards are violated several times purposefully, the coder should be suspended from his or her position. While different standards do hold different possibilities for consequences, the exact standard that is broken should not impact the punishment given. The training that is provided after the first standard is broken is indicative of the want for the supervisory staff to provide the staff member with knowledge so that the standards are not broken again. If any standard is violated again, employees will suffer recourse independently of the regulation that was violated because they should be aware of the standards from the initial training. Failure to understand the requirements at this point in time indicates either their purposeful disruption or inability to understand the training.

Imperfections in the coding can potentially impact the budget preparation of health care organizations, so it is important to prevent mistakes from being made (HCPRO, 2009). Ultimately, billing data is used to gain a greater understanding of the types of resources needed in the hospital over a period of time. Therefore, hospital administration can use this information to acquire products as needed. Mistakes may impact this order prediction, contributing to an inability to access required materials. Furthermore, mistakes in billing can impact the contracts between professional billers and coders and health care organizations. Mistakes will reduce the trust that is placed in the billers and coders and the health care organization may wish to partner with a different group for the next contract. In addition, depending on the terms of a particular contract, the agreement may be nullified depending on the severity of the mistake made.

References

Advance Healthcare Network. (2009). AHIMA Releases New Standards of Ethical Coding. Retrieved from http://health-information.advanceweb.com/Article/AHIMA-Releases-New-Standards-of-Ethical-Coding.aspx

AHIMA House of Delegates. (2008). AHIMA Standards of Ethical Coding. Retrieved from http://library.ahima.org/xpedio/groups/public/documents/ahima/bok2_001166.hcsp?dDocName=bok2_001166

HCPRO. (2009). Know your ethical obligations regarding coding and documentation. Retrieved from http://www.hcpro.com/HOM-236942-5728/Know-your-ethical-obligations-regarding-coding-and-documentation.html