Risk Adjustment Frequently Asked Questions

• Transparency – Our best practices for correct coding are shared with all clients, and we work in partnership to represent the most accurate coding information. Our Atlas platform provides real-time visibility into medical records and all coded data outcomes.
• Partnership – We do not want to be your vendor; we want to be your partner in quality coding and risk mitigation. Our client partners help us improve both our processes and our platform.
• Coding Specialties – Our team of highly experienced certified coders can code for any risk adjustment line of business, from any medical record, in any care setting.
• Accuracy – Our quality modules within Atlas support rigorous, multi-level quality review. Coders, coding quality specialists, and leaders all receive regular quality reviews that drive education and real-time improvement in coding behavior.
• Training – Our rigorous training process ensures every associate is prepared for each project, combining live and recorded training with an interactive Q&A forum, followed by hands-on chart coding in a training environment with real-time quality review and feedback.
• Expertise – Our Risk Adjustment Coding team has extensive expertise and years of experience supporting providers, health plans, and regulatory bodies.
• Compliance – Our coding practices are grounded in official ICD-10-CM coding guidelines and CMS risk adjustment model requirements. Coders assign only what is supported by clinical documentation and never infer or add diagnoses that aren’t documented.

All Risk Adjustment Coding team members are certified and hold a minimum of one core coding credential from AHIMA or AAPC. Many of our coders also hold AAPC’s Certified Risk Adjustment Coder (CRC) credential. We verify all coding credentials annually to confirm they remain active and in good standing.

Coders complete required continuing education hours annually to maintain their credentials, and our team provides ongoing internal education on CMS risk adjustment model updates, annual ICD-10-CM Official Guideline changes, and coding guidance from AHIMA and AAPC.

Yes. Centauri’s Risk Adjustment Coding team primarily conducts coding work remotely; however, we can facilitate on-site coding services if requested by the client.

Centauri offers both U.S.-based (onshore) and international (offshore) certified coding teams, giving clients flexibility on cost and scale. Regardless of location, every coder is certified and every engagement is governed by the same security, confidentiality, and quality controls.

Centauri can scale coding capacity quickly to meet project timelines, including by adding trained coding staff as needed. With adequate advance notice, we size our coding team to the volume and deadlines of your program.

Our coders are experienced working across the EHR platforms most commonly used by our clients and provider partners, and can code from an exported or attached chart, or by working directly within a client’s or provider’s EHR.

Turnaround time is established per project based on chart volume, complexity, and client deadlines, and is confirmed with each client before a project begins.

It starts with training. Once Risk Adjustment team members complete our rigorous training program, the first batch of charts for every new project undergoes focused quality review, with feedback shared immediately. Atlas gives our team real-time visibility into their own production and accuracy scores. All coding is based strictly on what is supported by the clinical documentation in the record.

Our coders are trained specifically on CMS HCC risk adjustment models and code only diagnoses supported by documentation. Multi-level quality review is designed to catch both under-coding and over-coding, since both distort RAF accuracy and carry compliance risk.

Our coding is documented and auditable at the chart and code level, and our team can support clients through CMS RADV, HHS/Marketplace IVA, and other regulatory or plan-initiated audits.

All medical record data is handled in accordance with HIPAA requirements under a signed Business Associate Agreement. Access to PHI within Atlas is role-based and audited, and data is encrypted in transit and at rest.

Coders follow a structured query process rather than making an assumption when documentation is incomplete or unclear.

Atlas allows us to capture chart-level and diagnosis-code-level data to track context around coding and documentation opportunities. We also offer provider education as requested by clients.

Yes, we do. Upon launching a client, project, and/or campaign, we review our standard reporting package along with any customized reports that may be required.