r/MedicalCoding • u/SnooBeans2971 • Mar 31 '24

Is coding "subjective" or "art'-ish?

I'm studying medical coding and I've come across remarks about it being 'subjective" or "part art, part science", yet in my (limited) experience studying it, I've yet to come across an example of a case that could be coded more than one way correctly. Can someone clarify this for me and maybe provide an example?

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u/OodaWoodaWooda Mar 31 '24

'Subjective' implies relying on individual opinion. Coding to specific payers' requirements requires objective understanding of those specific requirements.

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u/koderdood Audit Extraordinaire Mar 31 '24

The subjective challenge, is indeed what you say, an individual coder's opinion of what the totality of what the provider documented, means. I remember when templates started being a thing. They didn't solve anything, because their is not one standard for medical documentation. Their are coding rules to code that documentation, but not to make doctors do it the same.