Sep 1998 Table of Contents

LETTERS

Fam Pract Manag. 1998 Sep;5(8):10.

What's all the fuss about coding?

To the Editor:

I feel like a voice in the wilderness when I say that from a primary care perspective, I can't understand all the fuss about coding. Proper coding and documentation for accurate reimbursement can't be made much easier, especially for established patients. Yes, 99215s and new patient codes are problematic, but realistically they make up a small percentage compared with the now easy to code and document 99212s to 99214s. There now is (was) a system that not only helps us code more appropriately (resulting in increased reimbursement) but virtually protects us from the dreaded specter of an audit. The system is relatively easy to learn if my colleagues would only take the time to learn a few key points.

The cries of interference in the doctor-patient relationship are, in my opinion, a cover for an unwillingness to adapt to the changing terms of reimbursement. I feel the AAFP has wasted a lot of political capital by fighting this instead of educating its members like Family Practice Management is attempting to do.

Copyright © 1998 by the American Academy of Family Physicians.
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