pharmaceutical coding is different from medical coding

Pharmaceutical codes are used in medical classification to uniquely identify medication. They may uniquely identify an active ingredient, drug system (including inactive ingredients and time-release agents) in general, or a specific pharmaceutical product from a specific manufacturer.

Examples

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Drug system identifiers (manufacturer-specific including inactive ingredients):

• National Drug Code (NDC) — administered by Food and Drug Administration.^[1]
• Drug Identification Number (DIN) — administered by Health Canada under the Food and Drugs Act
• Hong Kong Drug Registration — administered by the Pharmaceutical Service of the Department of Health (Hong Kong)
• National Pharmaceutical Product Index - South Africa

Hierarchical systems:

• Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical Classification System (AT, or ATC/DDD) — administered by World Health Organization
• Generic Product Identifier (GPI) — hierarchical classification number published by MediSpan
• SNOMED — C axis

Ingredients:

• Unique Ingredient Identifier

Proprietary database identifiers include those assigned by First Databank, Micromedex, MediSpan, Gold Standard Drug Database (published by Elsevier), and Cerner Multum MediSource Lexicon; these are cross-indexed by RxNorm, which also assigns a unique identifier (RxCUI) to every combination of active ingredient and dose level.

Medical coding is the transformation of healthcare diagnosis, procedures, medical services, and equipment into universal medical alphanumeric codes. The diagnoses and procedure codes are taken from medical record documentation, such as transcription of physician's notes, laboratory and radiologic results, etc.

Medical coding professionals help ensure the codes are applied correctly during the medical billing process, which includes abstracting the information from documentation, assigning the appropriate codes, and creating a claim to be paid by insurance carriers.

Medical coding happens every time you see a healthcare provider. The healthcare provider reviews your complaint and medical history, makes an expert assessment of what’s wrong and how to treat you, and documents your visit. That documentation is not only the patient’s ongoing record, it’s how the healthcare provider gets paid.

Medical coders translate documentation into standardized codes that tell payers the following:

• Patient's diagnosis

• Medical necessity for treatments, services, or supplies the patient received

• Treatments, services, and supplies provided to the patient

• Any unusual circumstances or medical condition that affected those treatments and services