Kickcodes You’re Probably Sleeping On (and Why You Shouldn’t)
If you’ve ever stared at a claim in athenahealth wondering, “What just happened here?”, you’re not alone. Most practices are familiar with the usual suspects: DRPBILLING, PTRESP, and MGRHOLD. But there’s a whole underused kickcode toolbox out there that can make your claim workflow smoother, smarter, and faster.
After reviewing athenahealth’s article on Commonly Used Kickcodes/Kick Reasons, the team at Ignite wanted to highlight a few hidden gems we love—and wish more clients used.
What Is a Kickcode?
Kickcodes are more than just internal claim notes. They're decision tools. When used correctly, they direct claims to the appropriate party and clarify what needs to happen next.
There are two types of kickcodes:
Informational kickcodes document something but don’t move the claim or alter its flow. They’re for internal visibility, like adding context from a payer call.
Transactional kickcodes actively reroute the claim to the appropriate responsible party, whether that’s athenahealth, your internal billing team, the payer, or the patient.
Some change claim status, some don’t. Some trigger tasks for athenahealth, while others keep worklists clean and actionable for your team.
The key is using the right kickcode at the right time to minimize delays, prevent alterations in claim alarms and maximize clarity.
INFORM: The Unsung Hero of Claim Notes
You called the payer and got an update. Now what?
Please don’t use CIP just to leave a note. That ages the claim unnecessarily and creates inefficiencies. (Still unsure? See athena’s article in the Success Community on this.)
Instead, use INFORM.
Why we recommend it:
It captures updates from payer calls without changing claim status.
It doesn’t create an action item for athenahealth.
It keeps your documentation transparent and internal.
Bottom line: If you're not actively moving the claim forward, INFORM is your go-to informational kickcode. To learn more about CIP, please review athena’s Success Community Article.
ABANDONED: The Clean-Up Code for Overpayments
Overpayments and refunds are always tricky, but they don’t have to create unnecessary backlogs.
ABANDONED is a transactional kickcode that allows your team to write off a claim overpayment once you’ve confirmed that no refund is needed.
When to use it:
The overpayment has been vetted thoroughly.
All payers (primary, secondary, even tertiary) confirm payment aligns with contractual obligations and do not want a refund.
You're ready to take full responsibility for the write-off.
By applying ABANDONED, you’re indemnifying athenahealth and closing the loop on aged credit balances quickly and cleanly.
CLMBILLED: When You’ve Taken Matters Into Your Own Hands
Sometimes your team re-bills a claim outside of athena, through a payer portal or over the phone.
That’s where CLMBILLED comes in. This transactional kickcode is used to:
Return a claim to “BILLED” status.
Indicate that the claim was handled manually and does not require athenahealth’s follow-up.
Keep the billing history accurate for audit and tracking.
Always check the claim notes for additional context. This kickcode helps your workflow stay current and aligned.
RVCLOSE: When It’s Officially Done
Some claims just need to be closed out. That’s exactly what RVCLOSE is for.
Use this transactional kickcode to:
Mark claims with a $0 balance as resolved.
Prevent future unnecessary follow-up or confusion.
Signal that no further work is required from any party.
It’s clean, final, and reduces clutter in your outstanding claims list.
WEBACCESSGRANTED: Your Digital Key
Has your team recently given athenahealth access to a payer portal?
Use WEBACCESSGRANTED to let athena know it’s time to proceed. This transactional kickcode tells the system:
Your team has provided portal credentials via an enrollment task, case, or unpostable.
athenahealth now has access to retrieve EOBs and perform follow-up.
Any claims previously on hold for web access are ready to resume.
Important note: Credentials added elsewhere in the system won’t automatically push pending claims to athena. You must use this kickcode to reassign them appropriately.
Why These Kickcodes Matter
Because clarity drives cash flow. And when you use kickcodes effectively—informational for notes, transactional for workflow—you streamline your entire claims process.
Here’s what we tell our clients:
Smart kickcode usage reduces unnecessary claim aging.
It improves your team’s follow-up visibility.
It ensures claims are assigned to the right party at the right time.
It keeps both internal and athenahealth teams aligned.
And let’s face it, it just feels good to have a clean, well-documented claim.
Pro Tip: Use the Kickcode Lookup Tool
In Claim Edit, type a period (.) in the Kick Reason field to launch the Kickcode Lookup Tool.
This shows you only valid kickcode options based on the claim’s current status. No more guesswork.
Try it out. You may find your new favorite.
Want Help Decoding More?
Let us know which codes your team finds confusing, and we’ll break them down in a future post. Kickcodes don’t have to be cryptic. We’re here to help make them work for you.
Until then, happy claim chasing.
—
The Ignite Healthcare Solutions Team
