How to Reduce Overtime From Your Medical Coding Budget

Every coding operation, no matter how large or small, suffers from unavoidable coding outages due to:

Vacations
Sick Leave
Maternity Leave
Family Leave
Coder Turnover

In most cases, in-house coding operations choose one of the following paths to address these outages:

Cross-Coding Coverage: This involves cross-training a coder (or coders) who may specialize in another specialty. The main problem with this approach is that the other cross-coded specialty might be coded only 4-6 intermittent weeks per year making it exceedingly difficult for a coder to keep their skills current given the lack of exposure to the secondary specialty. It also assumes the coder can adequately address the current workload as well as the secondary specialty without accruing overtime.
Stop Coding Until the Coder Returns: This strategy all but guarantees overtime hours as the returning coder will still have a normal workload on top of the backlog caused by his or her absence. Another coder (or coders) might be approved to work overtime, but again, this guarantees an inflated budget. If the returning coder can resolve the backlog in less time than he/she was away, that means that your coding budget is inflated.

The TCN Solution

Instead of paying time-and-a-half or double time for overtime, The Coding Network (TCN) has created a new approach by providing “coder elasticity”, which means specialized coding coverage without costly overtime payments or burning out the internal staff. Instead, TCN offers a solution with per-case pricing. We remotely cover the absent coder’s desk and we are paid on a per-operation or per-visit or per-study visit.

With this coding coverage, TCN’s Project Manager will meet with the client’s team to obtain any and all coding policies specific to your practice or facility. Our IT staff will arrange for our specialty-specific certified coders to get HIPAA-compliant access to your EMR to quickly and accurately complete the necessary coding. You will never have to pay for more than exactly what you need. This program can completely eliminate overtime costs and ensure that all backup coders are experts within a single specialty. Once set up, this process virtually eliminates any time needed to get our coders connected and proficient on the client’s system.

TCN’s coding coverage program is an easy and inexpensive option, which relies on a predictable per-encounter price structure to reduce both backlogs and overtime costs.

Neal Green
THE CODING NETWORK

By Mark Babst|2024-07-19T05:47:06+00:00July 19th, 2024|

About the Author: Mark Babst

BA, Rutgers University ‘69 MPA, Syracuse University ‘71 Mark entered the medical field as a Program and Budget Analyst with New York City’s Health and Hospitals Corporation. After gaining experience in the public sector, he spent a number of years working for non-profit as well as private-sector healthcare delivery systems.Mark met Neal in 1976 when he moved from Boston to Los Angeles after a particularly nasty winter. Both had enrolled in a UCLA Extension class on what was then an entirely new topic: computer applications in the business of medicine. In 1980, Mark began his academic faculty practice experience as the Deputy Director and Chief Revenue Officer for UCLA’s Department of Medicine. Three years later, he was recruited to be the first Executive Director of the 112 physician Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles Medical Group, an affiliate of the University of Southern California. During his tenure, Mark helped double collections and lay a stable financial and organizational foundation for growth.In 1986, Mark joined Neal Green at Medi-Sec, Inc. as the Executive Vice President. The 9 years working with Neal in the medical billing industry and his discovery of the marketplace need for a specialty-specific coding service led Mark to help create The Coding Network in 1995. For 24 years Mark has been helping fill this need with top quality coding services, helping hundreds of clients and many thousands of physicians optimize their revenue streams and minimize their compliance exposure. As business partners with over 75 years of experience, Mark and Neal are well versed in the unique revenue cycle needs of physicians and have structured The Coding Network to excel in this arcane but essential niche.