TOP TIPS for good coding

Clinical Coding is a difficult job! Your job can be made easier by remembering these simple top tips:

• Always have your ICD-10 and OPCS-4 books with you when coding.
• Always follow the four step coding process that you learned when you attended the foundation course.
• This means remembering to analyse medical terminology to determine lead term(s) and modifier(s),
  Locate the lead term(s) in the Alphabetical index (ICD-10 and OPCS-4), Assign a tentative code(s) using the Alphabetical index, Verify the code(s) using the Tabular List (ICD-10 and OPCS-4).
• Keep your Coding Clinic and your ICD and OPCS Instruction Manuals by your side, all of the standards and guidance are contained within these.
• Remember, if you are part of a coding team, to ask your coding colleagues to help if you're unsure of which code(s) to use "two minds are better than one".
• Speak to your consultants; try to build up relationships with them. If you're unsure how to code something see if they can explain the operation to you, you may find that they can assist you in finding the correct code(s) (following national coding guidelines).
• The internet can be very useful along with medical dictionaries.
• If you're having difficulty resolving a clinical coding query and all avenues to resolve the query at Trust level have been exhausted then submit the query via the Clinical Coding Helpdesk using the appropriate proforma, remembering to send in anonymised casenotes.