The Next Step

Book excerpt: Learning advanced medical coding concepts is easy with Carol J. Buck's proven, step-by-step method! The Next Step, Advanced Medical Coding 2011 Edition provides an in-depth understanding of physician-based medical coding and coding services such as medical visits, diagnostic testing and interpretation, treatments, surgeries, and anesthesia. Patient cases reflect actual medical records -- with personal details changed or removed -- and give you real-world experience coding from physical documentation with advanced material. Enhance your clinical decision-making skills and learn to confidently pull the right information from documents, select the right codes, determine the correct sequencing of those codes, and prepare for the 2013 transition to ICD-10-CM with the help of Carol J. Buck! Carol J. Buck's proven step-by-step approach guides you through difficult concepts in the most direct, straightforward manner to ensure complete understanding. Realistic coding experience, based on actual patient cases, familiarizes you with real-world situations you'll encounter in practice. Dual Coding prepares you for the switch to ICD-10 by accompanying all ICD-9 answers with corresponding codes from ICD-10-CM. From the Trenches boxes in each chapter highlight real-life medical coders and provide practical advice and motivation. Full-color design makes advanced concepts more accessible and visually engaging. UNIQUE! Evaluation and Management (E/M) Audit Forms, developed to determine the correct E/M codes, simplify the coding process and help you ensure accuracy. Updated content reflects the latest coding developments so you can practice with the most current information available.