The autocoder does not code from general knowledge. Behind every claim sits a curated body of coding guidance. Hank authors that guidance, reviews it, and keeps it current.

## Where the guidance comes from

Hank authors guidance from licensed and authoritative material only. The main sources are:

- The CPT code set, including the family-level rules that separate similar codes.
- The ICD-10-CM code set and its official conventions.
- ASA reference material for anesthesia base units and anesthesia code selection.
- Published payer and CMS policy.

Each guidance entry records the source it came from and the code year it applies to. The autocoder uses the correct year for the date of service. CPT and HCPCS follow the calendar year. ICD follows the fiscal year, so a date of service in October or later uses the next year's ICD set.

## Expert review before it takes effect

No guidance change reaches your claims on an author's word alone. A change enters a review queue first. Hank coding experts read the proposed text, check it against the source, and approve or reject it. Only an approved entry becomes active guidance.

This applies to every kind of change: a new code family, a sequencing rule, a documentation requirement, or a correction to existing text.

## How guidance reaches a claim

Guidance is code-specific. The autocoder loads the guidance for the codes actually in play on the case, so the rules that apply to your case are the rules it reads. For ICD codes, guidance on a parent code also applies to its children. Guidance on Z68.4 therefore applies when the autocoder considers Z68.41.

## Continuous updates

Guidance changes for two reasons. First, the code sets and payer policy change, so Hank updates the affected entries. Second, customers report cases the autocoder coded wrong or incompletely. A reported case follows the same path: Hank writes the correction, an expert reviews it, and the approved change applies to later cases.

## Report a coding issue

Send coding problems to your Hank representative. Include the codes you expected and the documentation that supports them. To follow a reported issue to delivery, see [Where to See Your Reported Issues](/hank-codes/alerts-and-review/where-to-see-your-reported-issues).