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22 Not that long ago, going to the doctor meant an opportunity for personalized care with undivided attention. Physicians used their considerable skills gained through years of higher education and training to do what they did best: heal the sick and guide the healthy. Billing and insurance were administrative functions, performed by specially trained staff in a back room setting. While adjustments to this model have been slowly emerging for years, new mandates outlined in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) have accelerated the need for electronically collecting a more detailed account of patient diagnoses at time of service. With very little training in medical coding, physicians and other patient care providers are now responsible for performing this administrative function. The consequences are far reaching. Not only can reimbursement and income be negatively affected, but also precious time spent seeing patients is compromised as well. New technological innovations are needed to help get providers out from underneath a mountain of paperwork and back to doing what they do best: caring for patients. SmartCode is one of those innovations. SmartCode is a cloud based desktop coding tool that is designed with the physician user in mind. It is platform independent and is accessible through any computer. Understanding that medical billing is neither intuitive nor easy, SmartCode is designed from the ground up for both ICD-9 and ICD-10. It gives each user the ability to code to the highest level of acuity and specificity while prompting them to any correlating codes and required rules. For a monthly or yearly subscription fee, SmartCode intelligently leads the user to make the most cost and time effective decisions by not having to perform multiple searches. According to co-founder and CTO Kyle Schutt, "SmartCode brings together the latest technologies to create a solution that can be tailored to the type of medicine being practiced so only choices that make sense and are relevant are offered. This is a time saver as it eliminates the need to sift through mounds of impertinent information. It doesn't matter how large or small the practice— SmartCode can be used by all." Diagnostic coding can be a formidable and daunting task. With the government requiring a greater level of specificity, the number of choices will explode when the current 13,000 ICD-9 codes are replaced with 68,000 ICD-10 codes in 2015. SmartCode aims to improve quality and effectiveness of care by alleviating additional documentation burdens brought on by complex transition from ICD-9 to ICD-10. The challenge of getting it right the first time will be compounded by the increasing number of patients now having medical insurance. With greater numbers needing claim submission, having a tool like SmartCode will help minimize the amount of provider time taken away from patient care. Lyn Henderson, founder and CEO of Physician Chart Auditors (PCA), is an expert on physician practice management. With over 30 years experience in the healthcare industry, she knows first hand how difficult it can be to run a successful medical practice while not being overwhelmed by government mandates and insurance regulations. She understands the frustration physicians feel being increasingly pulled away for doing what they love to do and do best—caring for their patients. PCA helps physicians and healthcare organizations better understand their own practice patterns so that they meet the new standards and maximize revenue opportunities, while still having time to attend to quality patient care. Henderson audits over 100,000 physician charts per year and has helped over 14,000 providers improve their practice patterns. She likes SmartCode and sees GETTING BACK TO WORRYING ABOUT PATIENTS, NOT PAPERWORK By Claudia Dolphin