Analyze the various job functions of the current staff.
Coders
A coder is an individual that examines patient medical records and finds any diagnoses, treatments/medicines given, diagnostic testing, and so forth and gives each of these incidences a numerical (sometimes alphanumeric) value that is universal across insurance companies to collect payment for services rendered. Inpatient Coder- An inpatient coder is an individual that initiates requests for payments and reimbursement for procedures performed on a patient during a hospital stay on behalf of the medical facility. Inpatient Coders will deal more with ICD-9(10) or Diagnosis Codes than with CPT Procedure Codes. Inpatient coding could be considered to be more complex than outpatient coding because of the vast possibilities of different diseases, encounters and procedures. Outpatient Coder- An outpatient coder is an indiviual that initiates requests for payments for procedures performed either in a doctor's office or hospital outpatient department. Any procedure performed that does not require for the patient to stay more than 24 hours is considered outpatient. Outpatient coders typically deal more with CPT Procedure codes versus ICD 9(10) Diagnosis Codes. Outpatient coders that operate within doctor's offices are usually exposed to the same codes on a regular basis which is why many inpatient coders start off in an outpatient setting.
Front Office Clerk
The front office clerk is a job title that can differ in many different office settings. In this particular scenario, the front office clerk is responsible for basic clerical duties as well as processing health record requests and filing. In this position the clerk should be able to be HIPAA compliant because of her constant exposure to medical records and personal health information. Because of the time it is taking some of the doctors to grow