Problem: As the newly hired coding manager at your 300-bed acute-care facility, you are surprised that there are no coding productivity standards in place. Your organization outsources the same-day surgery accounts, but your facility's coding professionals code everything else. The number of charts coded by each staff member varies greatly. Unfortunately, the discharged, not final billed (DNFB) amount is climbing at an alarming rate. In an effort to reduce the DNFB, you determine that coding productivity standards must be implemented. You benchmark against three local hospitals to set the standards. Their standards per day are as follows:
|
Inpatient |
ER |
Same Day Surgery |
Ancillaries |
| Hospital A |
30 |
150 |
60 |
265 |
| Hospital B |
18 |
90 |
40 |
250 |
| Hospital C |
27 |
120 |
50 |
275 |
1. Propose at least four reasons why there is such a significant discrepancy in the productivity standards among these facilities.
2. Explain three factors that influence coding productivity (facility, coding professional, and the medical record).
3. Compose an argument for which coding productivity factor should be considered most when setting the productivity standards.