Top Medical Coding Companies 2024
In the rapidly evolving healthcare landscape, medical coding is one of the most crucial steps in a practice’s revenue cycle. Incorrect coding leads to revenue loss and denied claims, which is detrimental to the growth of a practice. To better manage the complex coding process, providers often look to coding companies in order to bring accuracy to their coding process.
What is Medical Coding?
Medical coding is the process of converting diagnoses, treatments, and services provided into medical alphanumeric codes. Documentation from patient medical records is taken and converted into the appropriate diagnoses and procedure codes. Accurate medical coding determines the revenue generated as per the services provided by the healthcare provider. Medical coding services assist in ensuring that the codes are accurately applied during the medical billing process, which entails extracting the necessary information from the documentation, assigning the proper codes, and generating a claim that will be reimbursed by insurance companies.
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Types of Medical Coding
The International Classification of Diseases (ICD) and the Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) are two widely used classification systems for medical coding. ICD is the widely used and accepted international system for classifying mortality and morbidity statistics. Health care facilities use the ICD system to categorize diseases and allocate funding for care.
An Overview of Top Medical Coding Companies
According to Grand View Research, the U.S. medical coding market was valued at USD 18.2 billion in 2022 and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.85% from 2023 to 2030. As healthcare practices strive for greater efficiency, accuracy, and compliance, the demand for expert medical services continues to rise. In this article, we will explore the top medical coding companies that have been revolutionizing the world of medical coding and revenue cycle management.
List of the best medical coding companies
CareCloud Pick for the Best Medical Coding Companies
CareCloud
Best Overall
Employees – 4100 Revenue – 139 million USD Established in 1999
Overview
A leader in healthcare IT, CareCloud provides comprehensive software and services to assist healthcare practices in improving patient satisfaction, increasing revenue, and streamlining workflow. CareCloud provides the most comprehensive set of tools and services to assist providers in transforming and improving their clinical, financial, and administrative operations.
Pros
- Highly customizable software
- Intuitive interface
- Affordable pricing
Cons
- Higher setup and implementation fees than other providers
The biggest reason for choosing CareCloud was that it provides a team that ensures compliance, maximizes revenue, and maintains exceptional quality assurance. Because of its user-friendly software and certified coders, CareCloud has been the choice of thousands of practitioners. It simplifies system navigation for every employee of your healthcare organization and improves the financial health of your practice at the same time.
DrChrono
Best for Small Practices
Employees – 200 Revenue – $42 Million Established in 2009
Overview
DrChrono is a leading healthcare technology provider that empowers medical practices with integrated EHR and practice management tools. With a user-friendly interface and robust features, it streamlines administrative tasks, enhances patient care, and improves efficiency. DrChrono’s innovative solutions adapt to the evolving healthcare landscape, making it a trusted choice for healthcare providers seeking comprehensive solutions.
Pros
- Highly trusted provider with over 17 million patients.
- Seamless experience.
- Competitive cost.
Cons
- Sometimes the system is slow.
- Support is not always quick.
DrChrono’s medical coding services also made it to our list as it can help increase the accuracy of your coding practices. You can add personalized descriptions to your CPT, ICD-10, or HCPCS codes using billing software features in order to accommodate your preferred terms. This helps improve accuracy and decrease denials.
Kareo
Best for Reporting
Employees – 1000+ Revenue – $210.1M Established in 2004
Overview
Kareo is a healthcare IT provider that provides user-friendly software that helps practices manage their workflows, improve patient care, and follow claims all the way through the payment process. Despite not directly offering revenue cycle management (RCM) services, Kareo collaborates with medical billing and coding affiliates to accommodate the needs of its customers. All of Kareo’s coders integrate with the company’s cloud-based medical software and cover a wide range of specialties.
Pros
- It covers a wide range of specialties.
- Single platform to access all data.
- Easy to use and intuitive software.
Cons
- Involves third party to provide services.
- Pricing is difficult to estimate without investigating all the available billing partners to choose from.
Kareo was selected as the top medical billing and coding service for filing claims because its features aid healthcare providers in improving their documentation, submitting accurate claims to clearinghouses without difficulty, and improving the practice’s bottom line. Moreover, it helps you get paid faster by sending accurate claims on the first try.
Nextgen
Best for Fast Claim Reimbursement
Employees – 2800 Revenue – $596.4 million Established in 1973
Overview
NextGen Healthcare is a healthcare technology company that offers tailored solutions to meet the specific requirements of ambulatory practices. With the use of its technologies, including EHR and practice management, patients can take charge of their own health, and practitioners can work more effectively and with greater engagement.
Pros
- Streamlines administrative tasks
- Insightful data analytics
- 24/7 support
- Training and support
Cons
- Customization often causes errors
- Features aren’t intuitive
We chose NextGen Medical Billing and Coding services as they help providers save time and money while growing their practices. NextGen helps them increase revenue more quickly while assisting physicians in giving patients high-quality care. NextGen Medical Billing and Coding gives your practice a comprehensive system that will assist your coding services and help your business grow.
Athenahealth
Best for Coding & Compliance support
Employees – 6500 Revenue – $5.7 Billion Established in 1997
Overview
Athenahealth is an industry giant with a comprehensive suite of healthcare technology solutions. AthenaOne from athenahealth is a comprehensive medical software suite that includes an electronichealth record (EHR) system, medical practice management software, and medical billing and coding tools. AthenaOne has tools for improving clinical documentation, increasing coding accuracy and improving cashflow.
Pros
- Reporting options are endlessly customizable.
- 24/7 support.
- Easy implementation.
Cons
- It is relatively not as user-friendly as other companies on this list.
Athenahealth’s medical coding service relies on a staff of HIPAA-compliant, qualified coders which helps you relieve of time-consuming coding responsibilities. It made its way on our list as it allows in-system communications and streamlines your workflow, simplifying communication and coordination all while improving your practice’s bottom-line.
AdvancedMD
Best Patient Portal
Employees – 800 Revenue – $168 Million Established in 1999
Overview
AdvancedMD is another healthcare IT company that provides a comprehensive suite of solutions to healthcare providers, including practice management, electronic health records, etc. AdvancedMD serves 50,000 practitioners across 13,000 practices and 555 medical billing organizations around the country.
Pros
- Highly customizable services.
- Hands-on, customer-friendly implementation.
Cons
- Adding more features makes its software more complex.
AdvancedMD was one of our top choices for medical coding providers as it is customer-friendly. Customers of AdvancedMD can select features individually. For instance, you can only pay for the tools you want from the system. Their coding software provides a full range of capabilities to make medical coding simple and understandable for small solo practices to enormous group practices.
Cerner
Best for Large Practices
Employees – 24,400 Revenue – $5.7 Billion Established in 1979
Overview
Cerner is a worldwide corporation headquartered in the United States that provides software, services, equipment, hardware to medical practices, long-term care institutions, retail pharmacies, and laboratories. Its comprehensive suite of solutions includes EHR, practice management, and medical billing and coding etc.
Pros
- Certified coders.
- End-to-end coding management.
Cons
- Not fully-automated.
- Not recommended for non-emergency medical practices.
Cerner’s medical coding services shine due to their team of certified coders and cutting-edge technology. They help optimize revenue cycles and integrate seamlessly with existing systems while prioritizing accurate coding practices.
FAQ’S about Largest Medical Coding Companies
The most critical thing in medical coding is accuracy. Accurate medical coding is crucial because it ensures that healthcare services and procedures are correctly documented and that the right code is being used for them. It helps not only in increasing reimbursements and decreasing denials; it also improves patient care by providing a clear patient record.
Having an efficient medical coding process ensures that your practice has a healthy bottom line. Medical coding enhances the accuracy and efficiency of healthcare documentation, billing, and claims. Accurate medical coding improves revenue and enhances patient care by empowering healthcare providers to make well-informed decisions, providing a comprehensive view of a patient’s medical history, and supporting data-driven approaches to healthcare.
According to the CDC, the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) is intended to increase international comparability in the collection, processing, classification, and presentation of mortality statistics. The reported conditions are then converted into medical codes using the classification structure and selection and modification methods included in the World Health Organization’s (WHO) applicable revision of the ICD.
Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes are used to describe the many processes and tasks carried out throughout a session or other engagement with a client. Whereas, the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) codes serve largely as diagnostic tools, identifying the precise disease for which a client is receiving treatment. ICD codes are organized by the World Health Organization and are international, whereas CPT codes are maintained by the American Medical Association and are federal.
To choose the right medical company, start by evaluating companies based on the following criteria:
- Consider the expertise and certification levels of their coders, ensuring they have the necessary skills and experience.
- Assess their compliance with industry standards and regulations.
- Inquire about their technology and software capabilities.
- Check out the company’s pricing plans.
