Documentation
Make HCC Buddy part of your workday
Find the right source, keep the useful parts and pick up where you left off.
Getting Started
Create Your Account
Create an account to keep your work. See current plans and access limits for paid features and trial details. Existing saved work remains readable, exportable and removable after paid access expires; starting new paid work may require renewal.
Look Up Your First Code
Open the Encoder and search an exact ICD-10-CM code or diagnosis term. Choose the edition for the work you are reviewing, then inspect the description, billability, code path and official instructions. An October release and its April update can differ.
Install the Chrome Extension
Search “HCC Buddy” in the Chrome Web Store. After installing, click the extension icon and log in with your HCC Buddy account. The same subscription covers both the website and extension.
Encoder Features
ICD-10-CM Search
Search a diagnosis term or exact code. Suggestions for ambiguous wording are choices to investigate, not confirmation of a diagnosis. In the Code Book, follow Index terms into the Tabular and review parent codes, child codes and applicable instructions.
HCC Mapping
Read the model, payment year and source state with the mapping. A missing source does not establish that a code has no mapping. A code-level coefficient is not a member RAF score. Historical ICD instructions do not by themselves establish a historical HCC or payment result.
Alpha Bar Navigation
Click any letter A to Z to browse the ICD-10-CM Alphabetic Index by first letter. Useful for browsing conditions by term rather than code range.
Code Basket
Add the codes you need from a code card, then open Saved or My Library to return to them. Before importing a basket into RAF, choose only the codes intended for that calculation; your basket may contain unrelated work.
Ask Buddy
Open a code, select its edition and choose Ask Buddy. Confirm the context shown, ask a specific question and read the linked source with the answer. Source-specific answering depends on that reference being available. A withheld answer does not validate a code. Use Ask Buddy for a general coding question when no code is selected.
Drug Reference
Open Drug Reference to investigate a medication and its listed indications. A medication match does not establish a diagnosis or justify assigning a code.
NPI Lookup
Open NPI Lookup to search NPPES records by name or NPI. Registry details do not establish licensing, encounter eligibility or whether a diagnosis is reportable.
Chrome Extension
The HCC Buddy Chrome extension brings ICD-10 lookup directly into your browser without switching tabs.
Installation
Use the extension installation page to open the Chrome Web Store listing. Add HCC Buddy to Chrome, then sign in from the browser toolbar with your HCC Buddy account.
Shared Account
Log in with the same email and password you use on hccbuddy.com. Your subscription covers both the website and the extension, no separate purchase needed.
How It Works
Open the extension from the toolbar to look up a code without leaving your working tab. Check its code, edition and source state as you would on the website. Site permissions and browser behavior can vary; use the website if the extension cannot work on a particular page.
Supported Browsers
Use the browser support information on the extension page. A store listing or installation does not guarantee access inside every site or embedded application.
Notes and My Library
Keep a useful source note
In Notes, choose a code and edition, load its sources and select the official instructions and review choices to keep. Filter by wording or source code; filtering preserves your selections. Save and reopen the note to check its stored edition.
Signed-in saved work belongs to your account. Unsaved choices may remain only in the open page or on this device. If another session changed a saved version, review that version before replacing your draft.
Watch code changes
Choose a code and starting edition in watched codes. A bookmark alone does not start a watch. Notices link earlier and later sources and highlight changed instructions. An incomplete check is not a no-change result. Pause or remove watches from the same page.
Review a reference with your team
Open Team reference review, select your team and save a source-linked draft. Submit it for a different current admin to review. The status records your team's workflow, not a coding, coverage or payment determination. Reassigning a responsible editor starts a new draft and preserves earlier history.
Return to a practice explanation
After an answer is revealed in Buddy Arena, use Save explanation. Saved explanations keeps that question version, rationale and reference. Changed or retired versions are labeled when checked.
Calculate and compare RAF scenarios
- Open the RAF calculator for CMS-HCC V28, Payment Year 2026. Enter the intended codes, age, sex, original reason for entitlement and a supported enrollment segment.
- Calculate and review the raw, normalized and payment-adjusted scores, calculation lines and sources. A result appears only after the required checks pass.
- Keep Scenario A. Change the intended inputs, calculate again and keep Scenario B to inspect the differences.
Scenarios are kept for the session. Download a calculation record to retain its inputs, full precision and source details. A score difference does not establish reportability or predict payment. Unsupported model or member contexts remain unavailable.
API and account help
Open Account to manage keys and inspect available usage information. The public API reference lists endpoint inputs, authentication and response contracts. Keep keys private, use the documented X-API-Key header and revoke keys you no longer need.
Use Download account data before deletion. Review account deletion shows the solo workspaces that will be removed and shared workspaces that will remain. Transfer admin responsibility where required, then refresh the impact before confirming.
If account or source details cannot load, retry before interpreting a missing value. Contact support with the page, selected edition and error message when you need help.