Current proposals for using arithmetic coding in a joint source/channel coding frame-work require 'soft' information to provide error correction. However, in many applications only the binary arithmetic coded output is available at the decoder. We propose a hard decision technique that uses only the information in the bitstream to provide error correction. Where soft information is available this decoder can also be used to substantially enhance the performance of any soft decision decoders by using the two decoders in an iterative fashion.