In the medical field there are many situations in which there are
multiple terms for a single item or action, so it is important to have
standardization to keep things clear and organized. This is especially
so, now that the majority of operations are done digitally with
computers that cannot use intuition or context clues to determine
what is meant when the text isn't clear or in the right place. The
problem only expands when dealing with multiple different systems
all trying to communicate with each other, such as in the case with
an HIE.
Inpatient coding and outpatient coding are similar to a point but
require a slightly different skillset to be effective. An example of a
difference would be that because outpatient encounters may not
have a definitive diagnosis, they have to be coded differently than an
inpatient stay. There are also separate guidelines to follow depending
on whether you are doing inpatient or outpatient coding, like how
HIPAA mandates the use of CPT/HCPCS codes instead of ICD-10-
PCS codes for outpatient procedural reporting (Jurek et al., 2017).
Reference:
Jurek, J. H., Mosay, S., & Neris, D. (2017). Conquer Medical Coding 2018 A Critical Thinking Approach with
Coding Simulations (3rd ed.) [E-book]. F A Davis.
