AccuCoder Professional is an affordably priced Windows desktop software application that makes it quick and easy to navigate, search and find all 2007 CPT, HCPCS and ICD-9-CM codes.

AccuCoder Professional 2007 contains a full money back guarantee, so your purchase is risk free. If at any time you feel that the software is not 100% as advertised or does not make medical coding easier to understand, then you will be entitled to a complete refund... that's the AccuCoder promise!

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In seconds you can search over 40,000 pages of medical coding data that is current and up to date, including:

  • All 2007 CPT Codes
  • Over 4 million ICD-9-CM -> CPT/HCPCS (diagnosis to procedure) cross-coder defintions
  • All 2007 HCPCS Codes
  • 9,881 CPT & HCPCS Terminology Definitions
  • 364,307 National Correct Coding Business Rules
  • 39,061 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Fees 2002-present
  • All 2007 ICD-9-CM Volume 1 Codes
  • All 2007 ICD-9-CM Volume 1 Index Entries
  • 2,993 ICD-9-CM Volume 1 Expanded Definitions
  • 4,446 All 2007 ICD-9-CM Volume 3 Codes
  • All ICD-9-CM Volume 3 Index Entries
  • 430 ICD-9-CM Volume 3 Expanded Definitions

AccuCoder Professional goes beyond a simple code lookup tool. Included are many new features that will enhance your coding productivity:

  • AccuCoder Explorer, a hierarchy of all the code books that you can easily navigate just by pointing and clicking.
  • All AccuCoder customers receive free code updates during the calendar year of the product so your codes are always up to date. 
  • Extended vocabulary for over 13,000 codes makes it easier to understand what each code means and helps you to code more accurately.
  • How much do I get paid? AccuCoder Professional contains the complete Medicare Physician Fee Schedule for all U.S. localities. Complete RVU-based fee data is available for all applicable CPT and HCPCS codes, including associated modifers and facility/non-facility pricing.
  • How do I code it? Over 364,000 business rules based on the National Correct Coding Initiative are included in AccuCoder Professional to make sure that you code correctly. AccuCoder also identifies add-on codes and seperate procedure codes for CPT coding. Never get a claim rejected again with AccuCoder's vast library of coding rules.
  • Over 91,000 alternate definitions for all codes are included in AccuCoder Professional. For example, there is no specific diagnosis code for fibromyalgia. If you enter fibromyalgia as a search in AccuCoder Professional, you will be directed to ICD-9-CM Diagnosis 729.1 (Myalgia and myositis unspecified), which is commonly coded as fibromyalgia.
  • Vocabulary definitions are included alongside many codes. This helps you to understand just what a code is saying. For example, CPT 31612 is defined as: 'Tracheal puncture, percutaneous with transtracheal aspiration and/or injection'. AccuCoder Professional expands out the definitions for several of the terms in this code to help you gain a better understanding of what the code means:
    • Tracheal The cartilaginous and membranous tube descending from the larynx and branching into the right and left main bronchi.
    • Percutaneous Administration of a drug by the way of absorption through the skin, usually for systemic action. The route allows sustained therapeutic plasma drug levels and avoids first pass effect. Simplicity of administration tends to result in high patient compliance.
    • Aspiration Removal of fluid from a lump, often a cyst, with a needle and a syringe.
  • Expanded definitions are included for thousands of ICD-9-CM codes. This helps you gain understanding of the code and ensure you are using it correctly. For example, using the previous ICD-9-CM Volume 1 729.1 code, the expanded defintion for 'Myalgia and myositis unspecified' contains these comments:
    • "A common nonarticular rheumatic syndrome characterized by myalgia and multiple points of focal muscle tenderness to palpation (trigger points). Muscle pain is typically aggravated by inactivity or exposure to cold. This condition is often associated with general symptoms, such as sleep disturbances, fatigue, stiffness, headaches, and occasionally depression. There is significant overlap between fibromyalgia and the chronic fatigue syndrome. Fibromyalgia may arise as a primary or secondary disease process. It is most frequent in females aged 20 to 50 years."

 

Navigate for a code using the AccuCoder Explorer

AccuCoder Professional lets you navigate through the full hierarchies for each of the major code books: CPT, HCPCS, ICD-9-CM Volume 1, ICD-9-CM Volume 3 and each associated index.

The navigation structure is very similar to what you find in the code books. Every code is nested within a hierarchy of categories. For example, CPT 77600 (Hyperthermia) is located in the hierarchy CPT > Radiology Codes > Radiation Oncology > Hyperthermia. The Hyperthermia subsection contains 4 other related codes:

  • CPT 77600 Hyperthermia, externally generated; superficial (ie, heating to a depth of 4 cm or less)
  • CPT 77605 Hyperthermia, externally generated; deep (ie, heating to depths greater than 4 cm)
  • CPT 77610 Hyperthermia generated by interstitial probe(s); 5 or fewer interstitial applicators
  • CPT 77615 Hyperthermia generated by interstitial probe(s); more than 5 interstitial applicators

AccuCoder Professional contains hundreds of hierarchies for CPT, HCPCS and ICD-9-CM Volume 1 and 3 codes that are easily navigated just by clicking the mouse to expand and collapse the code book sections. By breaking down all of the hierarchies for each code book, AccuCoder Professional makes finding codes easy. That's because you can start your code search with a general view, and by navigating the hierarchy, your search will become more detailed until you find exactly the specific codes you are looking for.

Using the AccuCoder Explorer hierarchy to find codes is significantly faster than thumbing through the coding books to find the appropriate code section. In a test, it took over 30 seconds to find the page in the code book where CPT 69718 is located. In AccuCoder Professional, it took 8 seconds to find the code in the hierarchy by just double clicking: CPT > Surgery Codes > Auditory System > Middle Ear > Other Procedures >

  • CPT 69718 Replacement (including removal of existing device), osseointegrated implant, temporal bone, with percutaneous attachment to external speech processor/cochlear stimulator; with mastoidectomy

The hierarchy also shows what code range belongs in each section. For example, the Hyperthermia section is labelled 'Hyperthermia (77600 - 77615)'. This is useful if you know the approximate code range you are looking for and also want to use the hierarchy definition to focus your search.

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Data Updates

You can keep your copy of AccuCoder Professional 2007 current throughout the year with the data update feature built right into the application. Just click File -> Check For Updates in any AccuCoder product and the update process will begin.

Using the update feature, you will always have the most current:

  • CPT, HCPCS and ICD-9-CM codes
  • Code vocabularies and extended descriptions
  • Physician Fee Schedule Data
  • National Correct Coding Initiative Business Rules

Searching for codes

AccuCoder Professional allows the user to search over 40,000 pages of medical coding data. Within seconds, you will have generated a full list of all matching data from each of the major code sets. The data that is searchable are the CPT, HCPCS, ICD-9-CM Volume 1 and ICD-9-CM Volume 3. If you don't know exactly what code you are looking for, you can also search the alphabetical indexes, which will give you a high level view of codes similar to any search criteria.

The search results that are returned are sorted by code and the search word is highlighted in yellow. AccuCoder Professional groups each code found into the code hierarchy and provides links to each hierarchy group. For example, there are 11 CPT codes that contain 'Pancreatectomy'. A search would group the 11 codes into these categories (see screenshot):

  • CPT > Anesthesia Codes > Upper Abdomen (1)
  • CPT > Surgery Codes > Digestive System: Liver, Pancreas, Abdomen, Peritoneum, Omentum, Hernia Repairs > Pancreas > Excision (9)
  • CPT > Surgery Codes > Digestive System: Liver, Pancreas, Abdomen, Peritoneum, Omentum, Hernia Repairs > Pancreas > Pancreas Transplantation (1)

Extended Vocabulary For CPT and HCPCS Codes

There are thousands of codes where the code description is so difficult to understand that you need to open a medical thesaurus to figure out what the code is saying. A clear understanding of what a code really means is crucial, because improper coding could lead to billing denials and potential legal issues. In addition, it can take over 5 minutes of your time to look in a medical thesaurus to figure out what a code means. Take a look at the following codes:

  • CPT 42725 Incision and drainage abscess; retropharyngeal or parapharyngeal, external approach
  • CPT 48145 Pancreatectomy, distal subtotal, with or without splenectomy; with pancreaticojejunostomy

For these codes, and thousands of others, it may be better to have a clearer understanding of what the terminology means. In AccuCoder Professional, over 13,000 terms have been defined. For example, AccuCoder Professional breaks down the complicated vocabulary for CPT 42725 :

  • Abscess An enclosed collection of pus in tissues, organs, or confined spaces in the body. An abscess is a sign of infection and is usually swollen and inflamed.
  • Retropharyngeal Posterior to the pharynx.
  • Parapharyngeal The space limited by the lateral wall of the pharynx, the cervical vertebrae, and the medial pterygoid muscle.

For CPT 48145 above, AccuCoder Professional breaks down the complicated vocabulary like this:

  • Pancreatectomy Surgery to remove all or part of the pancreas. In a total pancreatectomy, part of the stomach, part of the small intestine, the common bile duct, gallbladder, spleen, and nearby lymph nodes also are removed.
  • Distal Refers to a part of the body that is farther away from the center of the body than another part. For example, the fingers are distal to the shoulder. The opposite is proximal.
  • Splenectomy An operation to remove the spleen.
  • Pancreaticojejunostomy Surgical anastomosis of the pancreatic duct, or the divided end of the transected pancreas, with the jejunum.

The 13,000 extended vocabulary definitions in AccuCoder Professional is a feature that will save you a lot of time. You won't need to continually refer to a medical thesaurus. It will also give you a clearer understanding of what each code really means.

Buy AccuCoder Professional 2007 - upgrade prices starting at $99.95

How Much Do I Get Paid? How Do I Code It?

AccuCoder Professional answers 2 of the most common coding questions: How much do I get paid for a procedure and am I coding it correctly?

AccuCoder Professional contains RVU-based fee data for all U.S. localities based on the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule from 2002 to present. Fee data is presented for the primary code and any applicable modifiers. The ability to see fee data from 2002-present generates a view of how the fees for a given code have changed. AccuCoder Professional is the only medical coding software that has this feature.

Multiple codes can describe a patient encounter. How do you know if the codes that you choose are valid? AccuCoder Professional contains the complete National Correct Coding Initiative business rules code set. It contains over 364,000 rules to make sure that codes can be combined with other codes. AccuCoder Professional checks all codes against the following business rules to ensure you are submitting valid code combinations:

  • Misuse of primary code with secondary code (column 1/column 2)
  • Anesthesia included in surgical procedures
  • "HCPCS/CPT ""separate procedure"" definition"
  • HCPCS/CPT procedure code definition
  • Standard preparation / monitoring services
  • More extensive procedure
  • HCPCS/CPT coding manual instruction / guideline
  • Standards of medical / surgical practice
  • Sequential procedures
  • Laboratory panels
  • Gender-specific procedures formerly Designation of sex
  • Mutually exclusive procedures

Expanded Descriptions For ICD-9-CM Codes

AccuCoder Professional contains additional descriptions for many ICD-9 codes that are not found in the code books. The additional descriptions help further explain what a code means.

For example, the base description for ICD-9-CM Volume 1 code 729.1 is 'Myalgia and myositis unspecified'. In AccuCoder Professional, the base code description is displayed with the expanded definition unique to AccuCoder:

  • "A common nonarticular rheumatic syndrome characterized by myalgia and multiple points of focal muscle tenderness to palpation (trigger points). Muscle pain is typically aggravated by inactivity or exposure to cold. This condition is often associated with general symptoms, such as sleep disturbances, fatigue, stiffness, HEADACHES, and occasionally DEPRESSION. There is significant overlap between fibromyalgia and the chronic fatigue syndrome (FATIGUE SYNDROME, CHRONIC). Fibromyalgia may arise as a primary or secondary disease process. It is most frequent in females aged 20 to 50 years."

The expanded descriptions are also searchable, which makes it easier to find the codes that you are looking for.

Alternate Definitions For ICD-9-CM Codes

You can search through the codes, including the expanded explanations, of all of the major code books. This is extremely useful because not all diagnoses or procedures are definied within code descriptions.

For example, if you search all of the ICD-9-CM Volume 1 code descriptions for myeloradiculitis you will come up with no results. That's because myeloradiculitis is not defined as an individual code, but it is within a code that describes several different diagnoses: ICD-9-CM Diagnosis 357.0 - acute infective polyneuritis. 357.0 describes over 30 different diagnoses, such as:

  • BarrĂ©-Guillain syndrome
  • Encephalomyeloradiculitis (acute)
  • Encephalomyeloradiculoneuritis (acute)
  • Fisher's syndrome
  • Landry's disease or paralysis
  • Landry-Guillain-BarrĂ© syndrome
  • Miller Fisher's syndrome
  • Myeloradiculitis
  • Neuritis infectious (multiple)
  • Polyradiculitis (acute) 
  • ...plus over 20 more...

AccuCoder Professional is able to link over 91,000 alternate definitons to specific codes. If you have never been able to find a code based on a diagnosis or procedure, you will be able to find it using AccuCoder Professional's advanced code search functionality.

Buy AccuCoder Professional 2007 - upgrade prices starting at $99.95