Medical Coding for Physicians

The modern healthcare system relies on accurate information for claims, reimbursements and effective revenue management. Medical coding is an essential contributor to the process by providing insights into patient care. Without complete, accurate coding, you risk insurance denials or lower reimbursements. Evolving state and federal regulations surrounding treatment and payment further cement the importance of precise coding in successful revenue cycle management (RCM).

Learn more about medical coding, how it differs from billing and its importance in RCM to refine your practices for higher performance and compliance.

What Is Medical Coding in Healthcare?

Medical coding is the process of translating information about patient diagnoses, procedures, equipment and services into standardized, universally accepted numeric or alphanumeric data. These codes consolidate information from various sources, like lab test results, physician notes and more.

Thousands of these codes exist across widely accepted sources that healthcare coding professionals draw from. The most widely used source is the World Health Organization (WHO) and its International Classification of Diseases (ICD). The current version is ICD-10-CM — the 10th edition, clinically modified — which contains over 70,000 codes.

Subsets also exist for specific services and healthcare providers, such as the ICD-10-PCS, which applies to hospital-based surgeries and procedures. Other sources for coding can include:

• Current Procedural Terminology (CPT®), developed by the American Medical Association and typically used for outpatient services.
• Code on Dental Procedures and Nomenclature (CDT®), established by the American Dental Association and used for oral procedures and dental work.
• Healthcare Procedural Coding System Level II (HCPCS Level II), designed for Blue Cross/Blue Shield, Medicaid and Medicare.
• National Drug Code (NDC), specifying any drugs sold, used or prescribed.

Medical coding can be difficult due to ever-evolving regulations and error-prone manual data entry. Plus, codes frequently change, which adds complexity to the task and reinforces the need to stay current. For example, the 2025 update to the CPT introduces 270 new codes, 112 deletions and 38 revisions. ICD-10-CM saw similar volumes, with over 300 changes.

What Is the Difference Between Medical Billing and Coding?

The primary difference between medical billing and coding lies in function and objective — billing seeks to capture payments.

As a result, a professional medical biller has different skills and responsibilities than a healthcare coding professional. For example, a billing employee may process insurance verifications, accept payments and provide patients with good-faith estimates for care. Their job often requires extensive patience, communication and customer service skills.

Conversely, healthcare coding employees work primarily with data and documents. Valuable skills for RCM coding include:

• Time management
• Organization
• Attention to detail
• Analytical skills
• Communication
• A commitment to confidentiality and ethical standards
• Technology skills

Typical responsibilities of a healthcare coding professional also differ from those of a medical billing employee and may include:

• Reviewing patient records and documentation for verification of completion, like prescriptions and test results.
• Identifying gaps in the information that could pose reimbursement issues and working with providers to fill in the blanks.
• Interpreting records to align data with appropriate codes and preparing claims for forwarding to the medical biller.
• Promoting compliance by auditing medical records and adhering to privacy laws, best practices and regulatory changes.

In smaller practices, one employee may function as both the coder and biller, while larger organizations often delegate the duties to different individuals.

What Is the Purpose of Medical Coding, and Why Does Accuracy Matter?

The purpose of coding is to document patient information in a shared “language.” Doing so accurately has a significant impact on patient health and effective RCM management.

The standardized data that a medical coder uses conveys essential healthcare information to others. For example, codes detail a patient’s complaint, symptoms and treatment history. You can analyze this data for a diagnosis and the creation of a treatment plan. These plans often involve other healthcare professionals as part of your patient’s care team. Understanding what’s been done and why helps promote better outcomes for your patients, and accurate codes quickly relay this information.

Coding errors can also contribute to reimbursement issues. For example, transposing two digits in the alphanumeric can result in an insurance claim denial or inaccurate insurance reimbursement. Payors impose deadlines for filing claims, so if the time frame lapses before a correction occurs, an inaccuracy can represent revenue loss. Additionally, erroneous codes can lead to under-billing a specific service and reduce the reimbursement received.

How Healthcare Coding Services Improve Accuracy and RCM

Here’s why outsourcing healthcare coding services is a practical solution for maximizing your RCM.

Efficient Workflows and Reimbursements

Working with a specialized healthcare coding company streamlines the processes from the first patient encounter to the final payment. Your practice has a dedicated team to translate your patient information into accurate, compliant codes for the services and supplies you provide. These teams help ensure timely claims submissions and assist with denial management. Fast filing, reduced errors and proactive strategies produce quicker, more accurate payments for steadier and more predictable cash flow.

Technology and Education

Coding services companies invest heavily in the best tools and staff education to improve RCM and accuracy in multiple ways. For example, the software can help detect potential errors and flag them before claims submission to reduce denial potential. Coding service providers also ensure their workforce stays current with changes at both state and federal levels to promote maximum reimbursement.

Specialized Expertise and Knowledge

When you work with an experienced healthcare coding services provider, you gain access to specialized expertise. These teams are highly trained and possess the required certifications, skills, knowledge and familiarity with regulations.

Plus, these partners prioritize one goal — ensuring accurate coding that helps your practice boost reimbursements and meet compliance obligations. This capability is especially important for practices where one individual handles coding and billing — splitting their focus between different responsibilities increases the potential for errors.

Why Trust Healthcare Administrative Partners?

Healthcare Administrative Partners (HAP) is an experienced partner for medical coding services with extensive expertise in RCM. We’ve helped radiology professionals, hospital-employed physicians and physician practices maximize financial performance and minimize their compliance risk since 1995.

We’re an extension of your in-house workforce, helping streamline and standardize administrative tasks. Our services empower you to focus on patient care with peace of mind as we reduce denials, quicken payment cycles and navigate regulatory changes.

At HAP, our people and their passion for service set us apart. Our senior leadership team has over a century of combined industry experience. We also maintain active memberships with several industry associations, including the Radiology Business Management Association (RBMA) and the Healthcare Business Management Association (HBMA). Our expertise has made us key speakers at conferences sponsored by the RBMA, HBMA and the Society of Interventional Radiology (SIR).

Boost Coding Accuracy and Optimize RCM With HAP

Partnering with us is ideal for optimizing your coding workflows, efficiency and practice revenue. Our specialized medical coding and other RCM services fuel administrative improvement while enabling your staff to concentrate on patient care.

Contact us for expert advice or more details on how we can help.