Extras · 1 of 4

A typical day

A coder opens a discharged patient's chart, reads the doctors' notes, operative reports and test results, and assigns the standard codes for every diagnosis and procedure. Twenty to forty charts a day, depending on complexity. Those codes drive hospital funding and national statistics. Others on the team handle release-of-information requests, chase incomplete charts, answer privacy questions, and build reports for managers. Mostly quiet, focused screen work, often from home.