5 Tips on How to Manage a Remote Medical Coding Team

Use these tips to get the best out of a remote team of medical coders working on your claim submissions.

A recent Black Book Rankings study has revealed that 19% of hospitals are currently outsourcing medical coding, with over 47% planning to outsource medical coding over the next 14 months. It is a proven fact that remote medical coding can increase your productivity. However, most hospitals/ clinics worry about how they will manage a business relationship with medical coding professionals, who work overseas.

Here are some handy tips on how to manage a team of remote medical coders:

Tip # 1: Instruct the team with details/ specifications

Ensure that you provide the offshore medical coding team with everything that is needed for accurate claim submission. Give them a brief on the coding software that you use and provide them with details about how exactly you want your medical coding to be done.

Tip # 2: Insist on regular communication

To avoid delays in communication between the medical coders and the management, make sure that communication takes place on a regular basis, either via email, chat or phone. Frequent communication safeguards against the delay of claim submission and ensures that the medical coding process is both accurate and timely.

Tip # 3: Assess the productivity of the team

Measure the productivity of your medical coders by focusing on their deliverables. Find out how many charts an individual coder codes on a daily, weekly and monthly basis. Meticulously track the entire medical coding process. Ask your coders to hold on to claims that require clarification. Appoint an internal manager who would be responsible for monitoring the performance of the remote coders. He/she can reply to comments, append charts or reassign claims to other coders.

Tip # 4: Meet up with the team of coders

Take some time to meet up with the team of remote coders either in person or via web tools like Skype, Join Me or GoToMeeting. Meeting up face-to-face with your coders will enable you to build a good relationship with the team of coders. During these meetings, you can exchange ideas, address challenges or discuss processes.

Tip # 5: Conduct presentations/seminars

Ask your internal team of medical coding managers to host online presentations or educational seminars that explain coding changes taking place in medical coding. Such presentations/seminars can also be used to explain difficult charts, clarify common mistakes, interpret how charts are used for medical coding and discuss issues relating to coding situations.

Are you looking for a remote medical coding solution? Find out how we at Outsource2india can assist you.

Do you know of any other tips on managing a team of remote coders that can be added to this list? If yes, do leave tips/suggestions in the comment box below. The team at Outsource2india welcomes your feedback/questions on outsourcing medical coding.

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