Research to Another Level: Medical Coding and the Life Care Planning Process: Part I

This article is the first of a two-part series providing an introduction to medical coding as applied to the life care planning process. The article is designed to identify and define the most common types of medical codes relevant to medical procedures performed in inpatient settings, ambulatory surgical centers (ASC), outpatient hospital settings, and non-facility settings (i.e., physician’s office); supplies; equipment; physician fees; allied health professionals; diagnostic testing and hospitalizations involved in one portion of the research process in life care planning. A brief coding bibliography is included to identify specific publications related to each classification of code as well as a reference list at the end of the article that provides contact information for each of the books and databases referenced in the article. In addition, this article will lead into Part 2 of a series of articles that will describe how to research and determine the charge(s) for procedures, physician office visits, and hospitalizations using the relevant codes.