4 HCC Coding Education Strategies for Physicians

HCC coding education is a fast growing need for physicians. To meet the demands of today’s fast-paced and dynamic healthcare environment, many are now accelerating their transformation from a hospital-centered fee-for-service model to a more patient-centered model, and Value-Based Care is at the forefront of this change. The increased HCC coding knowledge requires clinicians to become more efficient with their time and resources as they are forced to master HCC coding in the gaps between patient care. 

 

The focus  on implementing coding education programs for clinicians is a hot topic. Unfortunately, many of the strategies being deployed actually add to the  challenges clinicians face in the day-to-day. They do this by attempting to educate with outdated methods, forgetting some of the tried-and-true teaching techniques that worked so well in med school. Namely, clinical vignettes deployed using the Socratic method.   In order to achieve the proficiency they need to code efficiently in real time, today’s clinicians need a solution that works well, without adding to their already stretched workload. 

 

Whether you are just getting started with your organization’s coding education strategy or you want to take it to the next level, this blog post compares the four key HCC coding education strategies, highlighting their strengths and weaknesses.

 

1. Lecture by Zoom / Classroom

The classic classroom setting, training through seminars deployed in person or over Zoom. This method does allow you to reach a massive audience and deliver identical content to them. 

 

If only doctors learned this way, it just might work! Unfortunately, most doctors come out of med school hard-wired to learn through clinical vignettes and the question and answer techniques, AKA the Socratic method.    Why? Because while some people do not learn well in a lecture setting, med school teaches doctors how to retain massive amounts of information using this proven teaching strategy. 

 

2. One-to-One Coaching

One-to-one coaching is the gold standard of HCC coding education. If there was one coach for every 5 clinicians, and if every clinician had time to be coached, this could work. And if every clinician learned the same way, it would work. But that is not the case! This strategy has its advantages. The sessions are intense and generally effective, as it results in an immediate correction to a clinician’s thought process. But this strategy will only work if clinicians have unlimited time and nearly unlimited coaches, which they do not. This method is super time-consuming, and do not forget, to organize this, you would need a massive staff to run the entire thing. Also, unlike Zoom classrooms, your reach is limited by  geography.

 

3. Email Blast

 Other than the fact that it does not work, it is great! Email is fast and easy, but also super easy to ignore. Whether you opt to  share all the codes in a single email, or drip out Code of the Month in a series of emails, it still falls flat. Easiest to deploy,  easiest to ignore, and hardest to retain. 

 

4. DoctusTech App

We admit to a certain bias, but hear us out. Learning can be done on  the doctor’s timeline,  and there is no scheduling required. Track the progress and performance, and help them to learn more and focus on areas needing attention. The DoctusTech app is ideal for larger groups, helping clinicians  learn without negatively impacting workload or patient care. JIT Learning enables clinicians to learn what they need when they need it. And without the limits of geography, the same HCC coding education can be deployed to all clinicians at once. No coaching staff to hire, train, deploy and manage. Accountability across the organization. Ease of use for clinicians with only a five minute lift per week. 

 

To make learning interesting, the app uses gamification to keep things competitive and fun. Clinicians can see how their peers are doing, and that competitive drive kicks in, pushing learners to engage even more. And when new information, rules, and codes come out, the app serves content to rapidly update the whole org. This app is cost-effective, saves time, and provides real-time behavior change.

 

HCC Coding Education Matters

No matter where you are in your value based care journey, HCC coding education is a vital tool that your clinicians need right now.

 

The best way to learn HCC coding is in the DoctusTech app. The second best way is deploying an army of coaches. And if you are still using email or seminars to onboard new clinicians and teach HCC coding to your doctors, please schedule some time with our team. The DoctusTech app is less expensive, more effective and far simpler to deploy, use, manage and maintain than any of the other HCC coding education strategies. 

 

Learn More about HCC Coding Education

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