Frequently asked questions
Short answers. For step-by-step use, see Help.
The product
What is anica-buddy?
A reference for medical coders. You open an ICD-10-CM code on a date and read its official Tabular List entry and its CMS-HCC V28 mapping for the editions in force that day. It also searches the Alphabetic Index, checks a short note for MEAT words and computes a raw RAF score.
Who is it for?
Risk-adjustment and outpatient coders, auditors and CDI specialists who need the official answer quickly and need to show where it came from.
Does it choose codes for me?
No. Buddy informs; the coder decides. It never approves a code, never turns a suspected condition into a diagnosis and never proposes a code from a medication.
Does it replace the Official Guidelines?
No. It shows the Tabular List, the Index and the CMS mappings. The ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines for Coding and Reporting still apply; a guidelines library is on the roadmap.
Editions and data
Where does the data come from?
From the official files: the ICD-10-CM Tabular List and Index published for each fiscal year, and CMS's HCC mapping, factor tables and model software. Each file is recorded with its checksum and verified when Buddy starts. Every figure on screen links to its file.
Why does the answer change when I change the date?
Because the code set changes every 1 October and the HCC model has its own payment-year releases. Buddy answers with the editions in force on your date and names them under the command bar.
Why did Buddy refuse my date?
No loaded edition covers it. Buddy says which edition is missing rather than answering from a neighbouring year, because a neighbouring year can be wrong for your date.
A code shows No V28 HCC. Is it invalid?
No. It is a valid code that CMS maps to no HCC. Only “Not in this edition's Tabular List” means invalid. What each answer means.
What does Not in this release mean?
The code is valid on your date, but the CMS mapping file was published before the code existed, so the file cannot say which HCC applies.
Why does one code show two HCCs?
Because CMS lists it under two. Buddy shows both rows and never picks one.
Is the RAF score what the plan will be paid?
No. It is the raw score, the sum of published relative factors. The normalization factor and the MA coding pattern adjustment are not loaded, so it is not a payment figure.
Privacy
Does Buddy store patient information?
No. It holds no charts and no patients. Your account holds your email, your organisation and your role.
What happens to text I paste into the evidence check?
It is checked and discarded. It is not written to the database or the logs, and it is sent to no AI model. Even so, do not paste names, dates of birth, MRNs, member IDs or any other identifier.
Does the calculator ask for member details?
Only what the CMS model uses: age, sex, entitlement flags and diagnoses. No name, member ID or date of birth.
Using it
Can I search by words instead of codes?
Yes. Type words in the command line. Buddy searches the Alphabetic Index and the Tabular titles of your edition and suggests spellings when a word is off.
Can the evidence check miss something?
Yes. It marks words it recognises; an unmarked word is not proof a note lacks it. It does not judge specificity either. Its limits are listed in Help.
Why is CPT locked?
CPT is licensed by the American Medical Association. Until a licence is in place, Buddy shows no CPT content. The button on the lock screen tells us your organisation needs it.
Is there dark mode?
Yes. Buddy follows your system setting, and the sun or moon button switches it and remembers your choice.
Accounts
How do I get an account?
Your organisation's administrator creates it. There is no public sign-up yet.
I forgot my password.
Password reset is not built yet. Ask your administrator, who can reach us to issue a new sign-in.