Clinical Coding Practice Framework

The Clinical Coding Practice Framework was developed from the Standards for Ethical Conduct in Clinical Coding, an appendix to the Australian Coding Standards, by the Health Information Management Association of Australia in conjunction with the CCSA, and incorporated feedback from public consultation.

This was in response to the transfer of stewardship of these Standards to the Health Information Management Association of Australia (HIMAA) by the Independent Hospital Pricing Authority (IHPA) at the beginning of 2018.

To support national consistency in clinical coding practice, the Clinical Coding Practice Framework (CCPF) aims to provide guidance in defining and promoting best practice for those involved in clinical coding e.g. clinical coders, clinical documentation improvement specialists, clinical coding auditors, health information managers, and managers at all levels of the process.

The Framework is designed to ensure the integrity of clinically coded data for patient safety and quality, research, epidemiology, health care management and planning, evaluation and reimbursement.

It is hoped the Framework will also assist other related health care administrators and relevant personnel to understand good practice surrounding the process of clinical coding (e.g. those working in clinical roles, hospital performance units, finance units and hospital executive/management).

We also encourage adoption of the Framework by any type of health care facility or organisation undertaking clinical the clinical coding function.

Please note, however, that it is not intended for the purposes of coding audit.

CCPF Resources:

CCPF Chart Card Flyer 1

CCPF Chart Card Flyer 2

Intro Presentation