About Medical Coding Auditing Jobs

A medical coding auditing job is a position in which a coder checks the work of another coder or medical personnel who has determined what level of procedure code or diagnosis code to bill. Auditing can be performed either prior to or after billing the medical procedures.

The Certified Coder

• A certified coder is one who has passed national certification exams to prove their coding ability. A certified coder is the preferred or required certification of coding auditors. There are two major companies which offer coding certification, the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) and the American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC).

Consultants

• Some coding auditing positions are available in consulting firms. These firms either directly hire a coder or contract with a coder to perform their auditing projects.

In-House Auditors

• In larger medical groups or hospitals the compliance department is the area where coding auditors are found.

Government Coding Auditors

• With Medicare's Recovery Audit Contractors (RAC) program, certified coders are hired under government subcontractors to perform coding audits of medical providers to determine if they have billed correctly.

Duties of Coding Auditors

• A coding auditor has three different areas that they need to be able to audit well. These areas are procedures called CPT codes, diagnosis codes called ICD-9 codes and supply codes known as HCPCS codes.

Specialties

• Coding auditors require extensive knowledge of medical terminology and anatomy associated with the different medical specialties. Some auditing positions require an auditor to have gross knowledge of multiple specialties. Some companies may hire many single-specialty coding auditors.