Making Sure to Prevent Coding Errors in Your Dental Practice

Mistakes in coding can cause problems for your dental practice in a number of ways. These can include denied or delayed payment, fines, having your dental license revoked, and even spending some time in jail. It’s important for all dentists to keep in mind that no matter who’s in charge of assigning codes, the dentist is the one who is legally responsiblefor every claim that comes from the dental practice. Accurate or not. 

How to Prevent Coding Errors 

As a dentist, you’ll be held responsible for inaccurate coding, even if the error was accidental. Below are a few ways to protect yourself and your practice by preventing coding errors: 

• Communication – It’s vital that your dental practice has a coding communication system. You need to be able to clearly communicate to your billing staff which procedures were performed. Charting is the best way to do this, which is why keeping up on charting is so important. To be especially sure, you can even attach a post-it note to the charts that show the correct codes for the procedures.  
• Know the Codes – We recommend making it mandatory for your staff to attend coding courses; and that you attend too! Most state boards don’t require dentists to receive CTD training, going to these classes can prevent future trouble for your practice. Since you’ll be the one held responsible for mistakes, you should be familiar with the codes. 
• Analysis Reports – A quick, easy way to catch errors is to run practice analysis reports regularly. It’s also a good idea to deactivate any codes that your practice doesn’t perform. There are around 600 codes, but most practices only use between 90-100 of them. Deactivating unused codes can lessen the chances of a mistake. 

Not only will having a correct and organized coding method keep you out of trouble, but it will also contribute to a practice that runs smoothly and profitably. For more tips on running and marketing a successful dental practice, please contact Pro Dental Designs today. Pro Dental Designs offers dental marketing services such as dental reputation management and dental websites.