Home health coding is not limited to medical coding. Home Health Care Coder is knowledgeable about ICD-10-CM coding regulations and recommendations. Home Health coding is extremely specialized, and taking a test normally necessitates quite a deal of experience. In our experience, it takes around two years of home health coding experience to become really proficient and pass the exams. Working experience in Home Health Coding is the best needed. There are many codes to learn and understand, as well as numerous regulations, assumed relationships, and principles. 

There are different types of qualifications available in home health. Many are extremely similar certificates, there are three key areas of competence in home health coding: diagnosis coding, OASIS, and compliance.

Home Health coders must be knowledgeable and experienced in clinical recording since they must analyse clinical papers thoroughly to ensure high accuracy and consistency.

If clinical documentation is unable to properly and accurately represent a patient’s individual treatment plan, it might result in a variety of possible complications for any home health practitioner. Some frequent concerns caused by erroneous clinical documentation include increased audit risk, reduced payment, higher takebacks, patient safety issues, improper care coordination, and poor referral source quality.

Home Health coders must be proficient and should propose coding suggestions as well as an in-depth evaluation of OASIS for optimal ICD coding. Coders should be meticulous in OASIS M-items to ensure they appropriately reflect patients’ conditions and complement the codes that are available at the moment.

Start of Care (SOC), Resumption of Care (ROC), REC (Re-Certification), and SCIC all have different degrees (Significant Change in Condition). Coders should also make ICD coding recommendations for all types of difficult conditions. Along with a thorough assessment of the OASIS and Plan of Care (POC), coders should make accurate revisions and recommendations in accordance with CMS criteria and the Patient-Driven Groupings Model (PDGM) rules, which aid in the improvement of home health services’ Star ratings.