What is a recommended basis for evaluating coders?

Evaluating coders based on data quality and integrity is essential because these metrics reflect the reliability and precision of coded data, which are crucial for accurate billing, analytics, and quality reporting. High-quality coding ensures that the data submitted is accurate and complete, ultimately leading to better healthcare outcomes. This aspect of evaluation focuses on the coder's ability to understand clinical documentation, apply coding guidelines correctly, and maintain adherence to compliance standards.

While speed, accuracy, and effective relationships with physicians are important factors in the overall performance of a coder, they can be secondary to the fundamental requirement for data quality and integrity. Speed alone does not guarantee that the coding will be accurate or reliable. Similarly, high accuracy in coding is a component of data quality, but the broader perspective considers how the coding affects the overall integrity of the health data. Establishing effective relationships with physicians is beneficial for communication, but it does not directly evaluate the coder's proficiency in maintaining the quality of the coded data. Therefore, focusing on data quality and integrity encompasses a more comprehensive and effective approach to evaluating coding professionals.