Medical Coding
Lab Curriculum.

BUG FOUND: coders who know codes, but cannot audit a chart that will actually pass a claim.

$ step-01 brushup // weeks 1–2 — Topics taught:

1. Coding systems basics: ICD, CPT/HCPCS concepts, and code structure.
2. Reading a patient chart: notes, diagnoses, procedures, and documentation.
3. Coding guidelines basics: what documentation supports which code.
4. Modifiers basics and common modifier errors.
5. Claim basics: what a payer checks, and why claims deny.
6. Auditing basics: sample, check, document, correct.

$ step-02 debug // weeks 3–4 — Production Debugging. Tools: sample charts, coding guidelines, claim denial examples.

• BUG #1: Miscoded chart: a diagnosis code does not match documentation — find it, correct it, note the guideline.
• BUG #2: Claim denial: a procedure code is denied — find the documentation / code / modifier cause, correct it.
• BUG #3: Documentation gap: a procedure is done but not documented well enough to code — identify the gap, note what documentation is needed.
• BUG #4: Upcoding / downcoding risk: a chart is coded too high or too low — correct it to what documentation supports, with reasons.

$ step-03 navigate // weeks 5–7 — Codebase / System Navigation:

• Navigate patient records and guidelines: trace each code to its documentation, across a full chart set.
• Correct a set of charts consistently: same error, same correction, same guideline note.
• Audit a chart set, rank errors by claim / compliance risk, and separate coding errors from documentation errors.
• Review a peer's coding for guideline compliance and documentation support.

$ step-04 ship // weeks 8–9 — Shipping Features: capstone — an audited set of correctly coded charts with an audit note, presented as if to a coding reviewer.

$ ship → PROOF — exact output: audited chart set, audit note with guideline references, and an error-rate summary.

$ run --lab medical-coding → ✓ SHIPPED, job-ready