Skip to main content

Medical Coding Terminology


·         Redaction  – Editing a document and removing some details before publishing

·         Aliquot - A weighable quantity of drug is dissolved in a calculated volume of a suitable solvent, usually water or ethanol. Then, an aliquot of the solution containing the desired amount of drug is removed

·         Arthrodesis – Fusion of a joint

·         Carte Blanche – Unconditional authority

·         Nomenclature - the body or system of names used in a particular specialist field.

·         Standby - readiness for duty or immediate deployment.

·         Moribund – at the point of death

·         Physiological - Normal function of a living organism

·         Therapeutic – healing of a disease

·         Cephalic – Towards the head

·         Caudad – towards the tail

·         Percutaneous – Through the skin

·         Pathology – Study of disease

·         Benign – Harmless

·         Malignant – Invasive, dangerous

·         Viscera - the internal organs in the main cavities of the body, especially those in the abdomen, e.g. the intestines.

·         Radical - Radical surgery, also called radical dissection, refers to the removal of blood supply, lymph nodes and sometimes adjacent structures of a diseased organ or tumor during surgery (Major surgery).

·         Medial - situated near the median plane of the body or the midline of an organ

·         Lateral – Towards the sides of the body

·         Proximal – situated near the center of the body

·         Distal – situated far away from the center of the body

·         Peripheral – outlying, border

·         Steinstrasse – German word describing a possible complication of ESWL

·         Peau D orange – French word – skin looking like orange peel

·         Adjacent – nearby

·         Lesion – An abnormal area of skin like a lump

·         Diagnosis – Process of determining the Disease condition

·         Laterality - Laterality" (side of the body affected) is a new coding convention added to relevant ICD-10 codes to increase specificity. Designated codes for conditions such as fractures, burns, ulcers, and certain neoplasms will require documentation of the side/region of the body where the condition occurs.

·         Convention - Rules to be followed when coding

·         Guidelines: Rules

·         Adverse reaction: An adverse effect means a substance is taken according to direction and a reaction occurs.

·         Placeholder: This frequently occurs with poisonings and injuries. The letter "x” serves as a placeholder when a code contains fewer than six characters and a seventh character applies. The "x” also allows for future expansion of the codes.

·         La carte: The definition of a la carte is a list of items on a menu which are priced separately.

·         Morbidity: Disease condition

·         Puerperium: the period of about six weeks after childbirth during which the mother's reproductive organs return to their original non-pregnant condition.

·         Postpartum: Following childbirth

·         Perinatal: The period surrounding childbirth

·         Subluxation: Partial dislocation

·         Manipulation: The process of manipulating a body part by manual examination and treatment.

·         Bundling: In medical billing, you can link some services together under one code, also known as bundling

·         Dislocation: An injury in which the ends of two connected bones separate

·         Myocardial Infarction: Heart Attack - Death of a tissue due to lack of blood supply

·         Angina pectoris: Chest pain

·         Sequela: a condition which is the consequence of a previous disease or injury

·         Adnexa: The parts adjoining an organ

·         Appendages : Extremities

·         Sequencing: IN a particular order

·         Neoplasm:  A neoplasm is a type of abnormal and excessive growth of tissue

·         Etiology: The cause of a disease

·         Manifestation: symptoms

·         Sepsis : Infection of blood

·         Ischemia: Inadequate blood supply to a body part/organ

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Revenue Cycle Management - RCM

When you enter the field of US Healthcare, the first thing you notice right away is the unique terminology that keeps bombarding you! New medical terms and medical slang keep popping up. Added to it is the abbreviations, acronyms and what not.... You feel overwhelmed at first... But gradually with some patience you can master the terms which are used often in your office. I am listing below some common healthcare terms used in Insurance and Billing in RCM. Check them out and hope you will learn a word or two! BILLING TERMS When both you and your health insurance company pay for your health care expenses, it’s called cost sharing. Deductibles, coinsurance and copays are all examples of cost sharing. Understanding how they work will help you know how much you’ll pay. Deductible A deductible is the amount you pay for health care services before your health insurance begins to pay. How it works: If your plan’s deductible is $1,500, you’ll pay 100 percen...
5 comments
Read more

What is Medical Coding?

Medical coding is the transformation of healthcare diagnosis, procedures, medical services and equipment into universal medical alphanumeric codes.” Put simply, this refers to the process of translating important medical information into simple codes for the purpose of documenting medical records and informing accurate medical billing. There are a few different  types of medical codes  used in healthcare settings today, but each of them allows for uniform documentation between medical facilities. Having this standard system allows for a more seamless transfer of medical records and more efficient research and analysis to track health trends. The three main types of codes are ICD-10-CM, CPT-4, and HCPCS What is a medical coder? Medical coders are the individuals responsible for translating physicians’ reports into useful medical codes. These professionals work behind the scenes in a variety of settings, ensuring all pertinent information is coded appropria...
4 comments
Read more

Allograft vs Autograft vs Xenograft

Allo – Same species Auto – Same person Xeno – Animal (different species) An autologous transplant uses a person's own stem cells. ... In a reduced-intensity allogeneic transplant, doctors suppress the recipient's immune system enough so the donor stem cells can take root, or “engraft,” there. An autograft is a bone or tissue that is taken from a part of a person’s own body and transplanted into another. Often, surgeons will use a person’s own hamstring tendon to repair a damaged anterior cruciate ligament. Similarly, an autograft bone may be transplanted from a person’s hip to aide in a spinal fusion. Patients who undergo autograft procedures may experience increased postoperative pain from the second surgical (autograft) site. They may also require longer periods of rehabilitation. The use of allograft is advantageous because there is no second procedure required to remove and transfer a portion of the patient’s native bone or tissue. Surgical time may be...
Post a Comment
Read more

Necessity of English Proficiency in Medical Coding

Irish Blessing A moonbeam to charm you, A sheltering angel, so nothing can harm you. A sunbeam to warm you, Naturally, being fluent in English places you at an advantage in the field of Medical Coding. That being said, it does not fully eliminate you from entering Coding. Medical Coding is different from Medical Transcription and does not require the same expertise and fluency in English. Medical Transcription careers demand that you be highly fluent in American English, as we get most of our clients from the USA. You need to be tuned to their culture and lifestyle to name a few. But that is not the case with coding. Of course you should have a working knowledge of English. Or else you will be unable to comprehend a Medical Chart. As you need to peruse a medical chart, understand what is being done for a patient and derive the codes. The requirement for fluency in English is not as high as in Transcription. I keep comparing the two fields of transcription and coding becaus...
1 comment
Read more

Spleen - Anatomy

The  spleen  is an organ located in the upper left abdomen, and is roughly the size of a clenched fist. In the adult, the spleen functions mainly as a blood filter, removing old red blood cells. It also plays a role in both cell-mediated and humoral immune responses. The spleen in located in the upper left quadrant of the abdomen, under cover of the diaphragm and  the ribcage – and therefore cannot normally be palpated on clinical examination (except when enlarged). It is an intraperitoneal organ, entirely surrounded by peritoneum (except at the splenic hilum). The spleen is connected to the stomach and kidney by parts of the greater omentum – a double fold of peritoneum that originates from the stomach: The spleen has a slightly  oval  shape. It is covered by a weak capsule that protects the organ whilst allowing it to expand in size. The outer surface of the spleen can be anatomically divided into two: ·      ...
Post a Comment
Read more

US Healthcare - Payment Posting

Payment posting and denial management are two extremely critical steps of the revenue cycle management of any solo practitioner or a healthcare organization. Streamlining these processes improves the RCM cycle leading to lesser delays in the A/R’s, ultimately guiding the way to increasing revenues along with patient satisfaction. Payment posting and its factors: In this process, the payment records of patients are recorded in the billing management software. It also includes attention to be given to claim denials — for identifying the problematic areas and their reasons along with apt actions to be taken on resolving the issues. Insurance Payment Posting: All payers either send an EOB (explanation of benefits) or ERA (electronic remittance advice) towards the payment of a claim. The medical billing staff posts these payments immediately into the respective patient accounts, against that particular claim to reconcile them. The payment posting is handled according to clie...
1 comment
Read more

Medical Coding, an excellent career choice!

As we are reeling under the pressure of COVID-19 infection in India, unemployment has reached sky high. Many have tried binge eating, binge cooking and binge watching movies to ward off boredom. So what is an alternative and viable option for our youngsters? Why not try something useful, that will enhance your career, or give a boost to your existing career. Learn something online. Be it a new skill, a new language, or something trending like Medical Coding. Medical Coding is a boon in such testing times. You can learn Medical Coding and re-skill yourself and reshape your career. If you are a graduate looking for an interesting and engrossing profession, Medical Coding checks all the boxes. The basic criteria needed is a college degree. Being tech savvy, which most of the youngsters are already thanks to smart phones, will help you move into this profession quite smoothly. A working knowledge of English is a must, as we receive all the work from USA. Once y...
Post a Comment
Read more

Dwindling Medical Transcription

Mayo Cuts Medical Transcriptionists The Mayo Clinic recently gave 400 medical transcriptionists the option of a “voluntary separation package” or pursue another job, according to the Rochester, Minn.  Post-Bulletin . A new electronic health record (EHR) system is forcing the cuts. The healthcare system, which has facilities in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Arizona, Florida, and other states employs the transcriptionists in several places where most of them transcribe medical notes recorded by providers at home. EHR Taking Over “This is part of a national trend in health care. New tools are reducing the need for transcription services. As a result, the need for medical transcriptionists to convert dictation into written reports is also declining,” said Roshy Didehban, chair of practice administration at Mayo Clinic, told the  Post-Bulletin . “We’ve had honest, ongoing conversations with our staff about this change and are taking steps to help red...
Post a Comment
Read more