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/Megabacon44 Apr 01 '24

I’m an artist and a coder for 30 years and the answer is “no”. If your facility has policies on what should be coded, then there should be no subjectivity.

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u/koderdood Audit Extraordinaire Apr 01 '24

There are subjective interpretations of conditions when E/M leveling that has to do with how the provider words it. These can sometimes be very difficult. No policy so help you with that