# Ed Coders in ER or HIM?



## emrick5 (Aug 19, 2009)

Hello, I am needing to know how other Emergency Department Coders complete their assignments.  I currently work in the ED Department, our hospital is looking to move the location of the coders to HIM and reorganize some of our responsabilities.  I need input as to how other ED manage their coding staff.  

Please tell me:
What is your physical location?  ED or HIM.
Do you code the professional side?
Do you code the facility side? 
Or both?
Do you code the procedures - both professional and facility?
Do you assign ICD-9?
How many coders complete the ED charts?
Are there coders working 7 days a week?
How many charts are expected to be completed in a day?
Are all of the coders certified? 

Thank you for your input!  All responses are very much appreciated.


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## JulesofColorado (Aug 20, 2009)

What is your physical location?  HIM.
Do you code the professional side?
Do you code the facility side? 
Or both? BOTH
Do you code the procedures - FACILITY
Do you assign ICD-9? YES
How many coders complete the ED charts? 2 AT THE MOMENT
Are there coders working 7 days a week? NOT USUALLY
How many charts are expected to be completed in a day? 32
Are all of the coders certified? MOST ARE


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## emrick5 (Aug 20, 2009)

Julesofcolorado, thank you for your reply, much appreciated.  May I ask, how do you communicate or querry the ED physicians?   Many thanks!


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## cpccoder2008 (Aug 25, 2009)

What is your physical location?  Coding Dept away from hospital
Do you code the professional side? physician
Do you code the facility side? 
Or both?
Do you code the procedures - both professional and facility? physician- yes
Do you assign ICD-9? yes
How many coders complete the ED charts? 1
Are there coders working 7 days a week? no
How many charts are expected to be completed in a day? as long as completed at the end of the week
Are all of the coders certified? yes


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## LTibbetts (Aug 25, 2009)

emrick5 said:


> Julesofcolorado, thank you for your reply, much appreciated.  May I ask, how do you communicate or querry the ED physicians?   Many thanks!



I am not sure how Jules does it , but here we use a form letter to send to the provider. We have a paper one that we can attach to the chart and we also have an electronic one that is a form letter in our 3M software that we can e-mail the provider which is done on a word template. There is space for the query and space for the response. We find that the electronic ones are answered more quickly. I will try to copy & paste below:
The word format did not come through well...there is a box outlining the sheet and it is set up a little nicer than it shows below. Hope it helps anyway...

Documentation Prompt for Coding Questions


Dr.	

Review for final coding of this chart revealed the need for additional documentation/clarification.

Coding Question:

Coding Tip:


1.	Please type an addendum to the document within the Clinical Notes tab in PowerChart and reply that an addendum has been made in the comment box when signing and forwarding to the #TAMC Inbox.
2.	If the coding associate simply needs a Yes/No answer to a question, please answer the question in the comment box (with a Yes or No), leave the Action on Sign, and Forward it for Review to #TAMC Inbox.
3.	If no action is needed simply reply to the #TAMC Inbox, “No Change Needed”.


Health Records Analyst:	Coder XXX

Thank you for your cooperation! 

Comments are NOT part of the patient's permanent medical record – all documentation NEEDS to be added to the Discharge Summary.


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## ahinman (Aug 25, 2009)

What is your physical location? I code under our hospital's revenue managaement department, but I work from home.
Do you code the professional side? yes
Do you code the facility side? yes
Or both?  LOL yes
Do you code the procedures - both professional and facility? yes
Do you assign ICD-9? yes
How many coders complete the ED charts? I am the only ER coder but there is another coder that does code ERs, if needed around 4 hours per day
Are there coders working 7 days a week? yes
How many charts are expected to be completed in a day?15 ers per hour....may seem low to some but please remember I code the PC, TC, ICD-9 all injections and any other procedure done in the ER on the TC or PC side.

Are all of the coders certified? yes


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