Book excerpt: Master advanced coding skills! Buck's The Next Step: Advanced Medical Coding and Auditing shows how to code for services such as medical visits, diagnostic testing and interpretation, treatments, surgeries, and anesthesia. Real-world cases (cleared of any patient identifiers) takes your coding proficiency a step further by providing hands-on practice with physician documentation. With this guide, you'll learn to pull the right information from medical documents, select the right codes, determine the correct sequencing of those codes, and properly audit cases. - Real-world patient cases (cleared of any patient identifiers) simulate the first year of coding on the job by using actual medical records, allowing you to practice coding with advanced material. - UNIQUE! Evaluation and Management (E/M) audit forms include clear coding instructions to help reduce errors in determining the correct level of service. - More than 150 full-color illustrations depict and clarify advanced coding concepts. - Coverage of CPT E/M guidelines changes for office and other outpatient codes. - From the Trenches boxes highlight the real-life experiences of professional medical coders and include photographs, quotes, practical tips, and advice. - NEW! Coding updates include the latest information available, including 2024 code updates when released.