Requiring clinicians to learn one more thing—especially when HCC coding does not feel connected to treating patients—is a big ask. Expecting them to learn in ways that are both ineffective and profoundly dull is just plain cruel.
Doctors talk a lot about behavior change in patients. But behavior change in doctors is incredibly tricky to effect. But to make Value-Based Care actually work, behavior change has to happen at the clinician level. Is it any surprise that asking doctors to sit in a classroom (or on a Zoom call) for an hour to be lectured on HCC coding is both wildly unpopular and not actually effective?
The importance of clinicians mastering HCC coding cannot be overstated. Without proper coding and documentation, Value-Based Care will fail. So we need doctors to understand Hierarchical Condition Categories: how to use them, when to use them, which ones to use and for what. And ultimately, why.
You cannot treat what you do not diagnose.
And you can’t diagnose what you don’t document.
And you can’t document what you don’t know.
While we acknowledge that HCC coding lectures do result in limited initial behavior change, doctors inevitably regress back to the mean. They return to doing what they already know. An email blast with the code of the month has even less impact than a lecture. And even the “gold standard” of one-to-one coaching returns a much smaller lasting impact than the time required to conduct the coaching.
Onboarding a new clinician with zero HCC knowledge can be as daunting as moving established providers into Value-Based Care arrangements.
So what is the answer? If the gold standard only makes a small dent in the needed fund of knowledge, and classroom learning is only marginally effective at short-term behavior change—and email blasts are worth less than the paper they’re not printed on—is all hope lost?
Allow me to introduce you to the DoctusTech HCC Coding Education App.
Five reasons you should try this app for your team:
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Do something different. If you are doing what the rest of healthcare has done for years, your approach is not likely to be any more effective. Ask your CDI team. Ask your doctors. Ask your Director of Quality. It’s time to try something new. Our app teaches HCC coding in a new, fresh way that doctors actually enjoy. We use the socratic method, the same technique used when studying for boards: clinical vignettes.- Timing matters: act fast, learn fast. By not embracing HCC coding fast enough, your VBC contracts are not generating the revenue they need to. And in order to support clinicians and patients, you need to learn and adopt – faster. The in-app lift requires less time than microwave popcorn, per week, and delivers real-world behavior change right away. Our app is fast.
- Money matters. Patient care is directly related to revenue. Revenue is directly related to RAF accuracy. And RAF accuracy is downstream from HCC knowledge. Invest in your clinicians, change behavior, capture and document new diagnoses, boost RAF accuracy. It all starts with changing the behavior of your doctors. Our app changes behavior.
- Happy doctors practice better medicine. By using a tool they enjoy, and driving results right away, your doctors will thank you. Our app has a 90+% month-over-month engagement rate across all clients. Our app makes doctors happy.
- 25 Hours of CME. Learning HCC coding in the DoctusTech app is not only fun and rewarding, it also provides 25 hours of accredited CME per year. So if you are asking your doctors to learn HCC coding, give them the tools they need to succeed, along with a nice 25 hour CME bonus on the side. Our app provides 25 hours of CME.
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Schedule a demo to learn more about the app today
1. Why is HCC coding education essential for clinicians?
Because accurate HCC coding drives RAF accuracy, and RAF accuracy drives revenue in Value-Based Care. Without proper documentation, organizations under-code, under-report disease burden, and lose the resources needed to care for patients.
2. Why doesn’t traditional HCC training work?
Lectures, Zoom sessions, and code-of-the-month emails create short-term awareness but no lasting behavior change. Clinicians quickly revert to old habits because the training feels disconnected from real clinical work.
3. What’s the most effective way for doctors to learn HCC coding?
Through active learning, clinical vignettes, quick scenarios, and immediate feedback. This mirrors how doctors learned medicine and builds real, lasting behavior change.
4. How fast can clinicians improve with the DoctusTech HCC Coding App?
In just a few minutes per week. The app fits into a clinician’s day, teaches through real-world cases, and delivers immediate documentation improvements, often within the first 30–60 days.
5. Does the DoctusTech HCC Coding App offer CME?
Yes! Clinicians earn 25 hours of CME per year simply by completing HCC lessons. That turns required learning into a rewarding, high-value experience that providers actually enjoy.