Question

What does it mean to be ethical in coding practices? How can you personally demonstrate good ethics while coding. What should you do if a provider asks you to code for procedures that were not performed? in 300 words

Answer 1

Ethics means the principle of doing right and wrong and is applied in every field of medical science. Ethical in coding practises means use of correct coding to indicate a procedure, diseases etc. Correct coding is very essential as it is the first stepping stone to move forward based on the initial symptoms and signs.

We need to use ethics in every field even though in day to day life . It's applicable in normal life too . Being ethical means you did the correct coding based on signs and symptoms provided by the patient and had a cross check with the physician. Personally, the basic ethics used in coding are accountability , responsibility ,non maleficence ,benefice confidentiality ,and justice and veracity.

Accountability - means being accountable for the task you perform .

Responsibility - means taking the responsibility of making the correct coding

Non maleficence - doing no harm to the patient

Confidentiality - means keeping patients related data confidential.

Justice - treating all patients equally

Veracity means trust over the health care member

All these are applicable during coding .

If a provider asks you to code for a procedure which was not done or performed then it's not included in the coding and if it's included then it's.uneithical practise .