_____ is fully responsible for the soft coding of the inpatient medical records.

• A. Patient Accounts
• B. Clinical Documentation
• C. Health Information Management
• D. Administration

Answer: (C)

The responsibility for translating the clinical information in inpatient records into standardized codes lies with Health Information Management. The HIM team consists of trained medical coders who review the physician’s documentation and assign the appropriate diagnosis and procedure codes using systems like ICD-10-CM/PCS, CPT, and HCPCS. They ensure the codes are supported by the documentation, properly sequenced, and validated for accuracy before billing and reporting. Soft coding refers to provisional or preliminary coding that may be used during chart processing; HIM is the group that reviews these provisional codes and finalizes them as accurate codes tied to the documented care. Other departments—Patient Accounts handles billing and collections, Administration covers policies and operations, and Clinical Documentation focuses on improving the quality of notes—do not perform the coding itself.