The lack of relevance of any pertinent information collected by insurance coding is a given for most practicing physicians. What is amazing to me is the pronouncements by government talking heads that this information can be used for any public health purpose. My clear motivation for ICD 10 coding is getting paid. Reading over some of the EMR notes I receive from others, it would seem that the purpose of EMR generated notes is "over documentation" to support any and all coding. I find myself on the phone much more now to find out what they really mean, since notes have become so distorted and bloated.
Since our benevolent government has allowed the insurance lobby to run roughshod over practicing physicians, they will reap the harvest of bloated documentation and coding. Much like the completion of death certificates. Those of us who complete these documents with limited information available on the elderly patient who dies at home shake our heads when news reports tell us that so many deaths occur from this or that cause per year. Garbage in, garbage out.
