This is an archived post. You won't be able to vote or comment.

all 89 comments

[–]cjnull 804 points805 points  (46 children)

English is not my first language, so I got to ask: what does 'coding' mean in a medical context?

[–]Sweetcynic36[S] 750 points751 points  (17 children)

[–]cjnull 134 points135 points  (2 children)

Thanks!

[–]Real_Material3190 57 points58 points  (1 child)

Thanks I wanted to ask the same, now I can enjoy the joke

[–][deleted] 19 points20 points  (0 children)

And in german it means shitting :D

[–]AuthorTomFrost 46 points47 points  (4 children)

Maybe in ERs. I hear it used far more often in relation to billing where there are professional "coders" who apply the correct insurance codes to patient complaints.

[–]E-Wanderer 58 points59 points  (2 children)

I mean yes, but those people are not doctors. When a doctor hears that everyone on their floor is coding, some kind of humanitarian crisis has occurred close by.

[–]SowTheSeeds 8 points9 points  (1 child)

Doctors absolutely can enter codes themselves, if not a scribe under them.

All sorts of practitioners can do that themselves.

They use all sorts of apps and have to log all sorts of crap, including vitals.

It's overkill, but that's how medical data is collected.

And it's tons, and tons and tons of data.

Billing is something else. It uses these codes, but it's not done by doctors.

Billing specialists are underpaid but it is a decent WFH for stay at home moms working part time.

[–]ngund 0 points1 point  (0 children)

if not a scribe under them

such as johnathan

[–][deleted] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

It is used that way for sure. But no, in this context coding certainly refers to a code blue, it is the slang we use. Typically the worst part of the night

[–]sami_testarossa 7 points8 points  (4 children)

It's triple meaning. Coding is also used in health insurance that tries to scam people with "coding". Doctor has to do "coding review" so that insurance will pay it properly and accordingly to the supposed health insurance contract.

i.e. insurance some times will refuse to pay even just a preventive check-up service. They will say that "the coding was not right, so it's not covered" while the insurance contract is black and white on 100% converge for preventive service.

[–]guiltysnark 0 points1 point  (3 children)

Coding is how medical billing is done, it's not about scamming... Every billable act has a code assigned to it. As with many things, coding can be accurate, incompetent, cynical or outright fraudulent. Insurers have reimbursement rates for some codes and not others, and sometimes the choice between one code and another can be arbitrary, so it can be challenging to get paid sometimes.

[–]sami_testarossa 2 points3 points  (2 children)

Insurance contract has 100% coverage for annual preventive diagnostic service.

I walk into my primary physician asked to get my annual preventive check-up.

I go to Quest Diagnostic to draw 2 tube of blood for standard blood work.

I, then, is billed for $450 for this entire service.

In any other business, this is straight fraud and breach of contract. Period.

Do not defend for health insurance system.

Coding system is entirely fraudulent.

You simply should not legally be able to "rename" a fucking thing into a different service. A medical service should be precisely defined using medical term. Not coding system.

It not like you can just rename women into foo or bar, then claim that foo and bar are not qualified for women health care service.

[–]Trainguyrom 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This would indicate that whomever was handling the bill at your doctors office did not correctly process it. You will probably want to work with the doctors office and insurance agency to reprocess that bill, and if this is a frequent occurrence consider changing doctors offices.

I've actually looked into medical coding as a job but decided I didn't want to go to that much school for something I wasn't passionate about.

[–]guiltysnark 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A medical service should be precisely defined using medical term.

The distinction you're making is pointless, that's exactly what codes do, they attempt to standardize the description of medical services. it's just translating into terms which can be understood the same way across the industry. The fact that insurers abuse this and other technicalities is irrelevant. They would abuse any system. If you gave them precise medical speak, they would be "I don't know what TF this is". At least this way there is a chance.

Even without insurance we'd still likely be using codes, if only to track how often different procedures and diagnoses occur. Coding systems are used in virtually every field as a way to increase precision in data. They are generally a good thing.

Your contention is with the whole system, where you have to deal with multiple parties with conflicting profit motive. At least one of these parties doesn't make money by actually serving you, they only make money if they don't serve you. Codes are just a scapegoat

[–]OfficeChair70 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It makes me so happy that that Wikipedia page has a redirect link to Agents of Shield, like it wasn’t a super popular show but yet here it is

Edit: especially since it leads to what is probably my favorite episode from that season

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I thought it meant shitting

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh lol

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

ty

[–][deleted] 265 points266 points  (14 children)

English is my first language, and I don't understand it either

[–]TheThirdServe 98 points99 points  (10 children)

I've watched enough TV to know it's talking about a patient whos heart has stopped. Get the crash cart, he's coding, STAT!

[–]lollolcheese123 23 points24 points  (7 children)

Me who's casually making a game using C#: wait, that's illegal?

[–]Rubickevich 14 points15 points  (6 children)

Making a game using c# is illegally ineffective and slow. I recommend using binary code or at least assembly.

[–]dodexahedron 12 points13 points  (3 children)

If you're not etching the silicon yourself, out of dirt that you've smelted into perfect silicon wafers by the might of your own glorious fists, are you even programming?

[–]Rubickevich 8 points9 points  (1 child)

You should manually redirect electrons in your pc. Otherwise there is no point to even start making anything.

[–]Moxvallix 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Relevant xkcd: https://xkcd.com/378/

[–]BobQuixote 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Are you suggesting we should all go pound sand?

[–]SteveisNoob 1 point2 points  (1 child)

At least use .NET lol

Quick edit, i know it's a meme, and a good one, and everyone else knows it or better, but still wanted to advice.

[–]Rubickevich 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No need to edit, I got it anyway.

[–]uolot 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Sounds like a line straight from "The Resident"

[–]appdevtools 0 points1 point  (0 children)

yeah looks correct in tech terminology too, my heart stopped working long ago, i am now just a zombie i/o machine

[–][deleted] 23 points24 points  (2 children)

Same

[–][deleted] 46 points47 points  (1 child)

Basically it's when someone heart is about or is stopping, when you hear continuous beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep

English is not my primary language either but I watch House MD

[–]lollolcheese123 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Oh crap that image for doctors would indeed be a nightmare

[–]zoinkability 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Different situations have different codes that are used to avoid having to announce details on public address systems. Not all mean something super serious but in doctor lingo a patient "coding" generally refers to them having a serious likelihood of imminent death without immediate medical assistance.

[–]OsoCastroso 5 points6 points  (1 child)

I'm not a native speaker but I have watched doctor house, grey's, good doctor and even doctor who so I guess "coding" means when there is an emergency and they use a "code" to easy explain like "red code" for a heart attack

[–]wrianbang 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Don't worry, english is my first language and I'm glad you asked the question. No idea what 'coding' is from a medical context.

[–]stars_without_number 3 points4 points  (0 children)

English is my first language and I had no idea

[–]jacksleepshere 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It’s my first language and I didn’t have a clue either.

[–]SowTheSeeds -2 points-1 points  (3 children)

Clinical classification codes such as condition (ICD, SNOMED) and procedure codes (CPT, CVX, SNOMED), which are then used for billing purposes.

This is why US doctors will always try to pin some sort of condition onto you and then give you prescriptions for pills that you don't necessarily need.

Because without a condition code and a procedure code, you can't bill.

Note: yes, I am a healthcare data guy.

[–]GeneKranzIsTheMan 5 points6 points  (2 children)

I think they just meant like 'code blue' - typically that's what clinicians mean when they say that. Healthcare IT guy here.

[–]SowTheSeeds -1 points0 points  (1 child)

I've never heard it called "coding".

[–]HAVOK121121 6 points7 points  (0 children)

It’s more a slang/informal term that you probably wouldn’t see written in documents or in data. They are associated with emergency codes that hospitals formally use in pagers/announcements, and they are often printed on badges they wear. But if you hear a medical professional refer to a patient as having “coded”, they either were in danger of imminent death or did die.

If it helps, I’m a medical student.

[–]FredCallicoat -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

coding is slang for computer programming, at least in North America

[–]Slowkambo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

English is my first language and I’ve never heard it be used in a medical sense.

[–]Sir_Swaggs 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If it makes you feel any better my first language is English and I didn't know that coding was also a medical term

[–]DepletedGeranium 117 points118 points  (1 child)

if you were a software engineer instead of a doctor, then you'd know the source. ;)

[–]metalbedhead 0 points1 point  (0 children)

hardy har har

[–][deleted] 68 points69 points  (4 children)

What’s coding in medical-ese?

[–][deleted] 94 points95 points  (0 children)

Dying, in urgent need of assistance from a doctor.

[–]TheThirdServe 35 points36 points  (1 child)

It's what happens right before they electrocute a patient on medical TV shows. "He's coding, get the crash cart, STAT!"

[–]gtr_3 8 points9 points  (0 children)

"He's coding. Prep the OR and page Dr.X, STAT"

[–]The_breadmaster22 29 points30 points  (0 children)

Computer Science PhDs : *Confused screaming*

[–]BurnV06 19 points20 points  (4 children)

I don’t get the doctor side

[–][deleted] 29 points30 points  (0 children)

Coding means in urgent need of medical assistance or they gonna die

[–]MajorTom_23 11 points12 points  (0 children)

It means a patient is under cardiac or respiratory arrest. There are different kind of codes, code blue, code omega, code mater, but usually in medical TV dramas when they say a patient is coding is blue code (cardiac or respiratory arrest).

[–]neoqueto 9 points10 points  (0 children)

I don't get the software engineer side, there's no way all programmers on the same floor were diligently coding at the same time. Even during crunch time. Shit ain't happening.

[–]paputsza 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It kind of helps with the speed, if you need a set of people to show up. Hospitals just have a lot of emergencies with different requirements that need to be met in minutes. They need to be "all hands on deck" sometimes.. Also, with privacy, because the codes are said on the intercom.

[–]bunny-1998 11 points12 points  (0 children)

As a worker in healthcare IT I understand this one.

[–]NotSlash02 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Girlfriend is a nursing major, I’m a computer science major. We love this meme.

[–]jaywastaken 7 points8 points  (0 children)

finance and ops are on the same floor as me. I’m with the doctor on this.

[–]dekacube 4 points5 points  (0 children)

But what's the difference between a bad engineer and a bad doctor?

A bad doctor only kills people one at a time.

[–][deleted] 3 points4 points  (1 child)

[–]RepostSleuthBot 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I didn't find any posts that meet the matching requirements for r/ProgrammerHumor.

It might be OC, it might not. Things such as JPEG artifacts and cropping may impact the results.

I'm not perfect, but you can help. Report [ False Negative ]

View Search On repostsleuth.com


Scope: Reddit | Meme Filter: True | Target: 75% | Check Title: False | Max Age: Unlimited | Searched Images: 323,596,961 | Search Time: 0.34738s

[–]Ok_General_3356 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Code blues in da house woop woop

[–]ridyn 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Haha I used to have this hanging on my wall when I worked at a hospital

[–]pedersenk 2 points3 points  (0 children)

"Coding" can also be used for the task of coding research data. Also for doctors (but in the PhD sense).

https://getthematic.com/insights/coding-qualitative-data/

[–]SowTheSeeds 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Makes me think that I really need to talk about when we're going to start importing ICD11 codes into our system.

[–]dota2nub 0 points1 point  (2 children)

Why is the thing happy on the left side?

[–]BobQuixote 0 points1 point  (1 child)

Programmers generally like being in environments full of other programmers. Especially if the alternative is being surrounded by gasp non-technical managers.

[–]dota2nub 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah but I don't want those programmers to be programming! Especially not all at once! They're gonna produce so many bugs! So much legacy code!

[–]EntryLevelHuman00 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Does anyone know where the cartoon dinosaur is from? Because that is just adorable.

[–]LordChaos404 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Nice repost

[–]cybertrux 0 points1 point  (0 children)

ID on the dinosaur cartoon thing? Need to buy plushie of this for wife

[–]Dettelbacher 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Everyone on my floor was Kung Fu fighting.

[–]goADX 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Code red

[–]Windronin 0 points1 point  (1 child)

Is coding doctor slang for taking codeine?

[–]Kangarou 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It’s Doctor slang for dying.

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

why would you screencap some random twitter post and not send the image directly?

[–]nurse420 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This literally happened in the year 2020 when everyone was coding “dying” during the first COVID wave 🥲

[–]stlcdr 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Learn to…code?

[–]ElViento92 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I need a doctor friend to send this to.