Coding

All practices should review their procedure codes every 2 years. When I sit down to assist my customers with coding, our first step is to run reports on the practice including how many patients they see, fee schedule, codes used, and the number of times each code was used. This requires very little time and only becomes a challenge if the office is not using computers. After pulling the reports, we review areas for improvement such as missing codes that should appear more frequently (ex. cavity varnish) and areas of potential growth for the practice (ex. billing lots of post and cores, the office should consider performing endo). After this analysis, my customers usually see a 10-15% increase in their gross income. I also recommend they schedule a follow-up consultation with Dr. Charles Blair who can advise them on miscodings and legal issues.

With years of experience writing and speaking about coding, I have seen first-hand the impact improper coding and record keeping can have on a practice from loss of revenue, malpractice lawsuits and fines, to even jail time. That’s why I spend more than 50 hours a year teaching Henry Schein Sales Consultants about coding and how they can help dentists put procedures in place to protect their license.