Turning Numbers

Into Knowledge

Nate MooreMBA, CPA, CMPE

Verifiably Vital Virtues Vested in Versatile

Microsoft Excel® VLOOKUP

Learning Objectives

• Work through a basic VLOOKUP

application

• Combine functions to add power to

VLOOKUP

• Watch for and overcome VLOOKUP

gotchas

Work Through a BasicVLOOKUP Application

• VLOOKUP(lookup_value, table_array,

col_index_num, [range_lookup])

Lookup Value

What am I looking for?

Table Array

What table has the data I’m looking for

(in the far left column)

Column Index Number

Which column in the table

do I want to return?

Range Lookup

TRUE – Find the closest value to what

I’m searching for, without going over

FALSE – Find an exact match

Range Lookup – Continued

Range Lookup is Optional and

TRUE is the default!

Table has to be sorted for TRUE to

work!

Combine Functions to Add Power to VLOOKUP

• IFERROR (trap and control errors)

• LEFT (lookup leftmost x characters)

• ROW & COLUMN for column number

• HLOOKUP

Watch For and Overcome VLOOKUP Gotchas

• Text vs. Numbers (especially CPT

codes)

• Convert Text to Numbers and vice

versa using Text to Columns on the

Data tab

Watch For and Overcome VLOOKUP Gotchas

• Absolute references for the table

($A$2:$C$198)

• TRUE is the default!

Applications for VLOOKUP in a Medical Practice

• Fee Schedule Analysis – CPT Codes

• Diagnosis Codes

• Patient Satisfaction Surveys

• Financial Reporting

Next Steps

Using VLOOKUP to Combine Data in

Microsoft Excel article at

mooresolutionsinc.com/articles.php

MGMA Excel Users Community

More Next Steps

Watch Excel Videos 61-69 and 173-176

at mooresolutionsinc.com

Practice with this sample data

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Nate Moore