So, what a medical coder is? Every time you visit a physician’s office or a healthcare facility your insurance provider will receive the bill. This bill contains CPT (Current Procedural Terminology) codes. There are 3 categories of codes: procedures and contemporary medical practices, Clinical Laboratory Services, Emerging technologies services and procedures.
Medical coders’ work is to review medical records and assign the right codes in order to make sure that health care facilities will get recompensed for their services.
The daily duties of a medical coder are:
Retrieving patient records for doctors and other healthcare professionals
Looking through files for preexisting conditions
Keeping track of medical records
Preparing discharge paperwork
Translating diagnosis and medical procedures into medical codes.
Researching for the right code
Data entry
The most important skill medical coders need to have is attention to detail. With thousands of codes and a number of procedures and treatments a patient could receive it is really easy to make a mistake, so you can understand why attention to detail is such a crucial skill for medical coders.
Computer skills is another skill essential for medical coders. They work with computer systems, entering data all day long, so having good computer skills is really important for this profession.
Lastly analytical skills are also required for this profession. With the medical coding rules being really complex this job require strong analytical skills.
The majority of medical coders work at healthcare facilities like physician offices, hospitals and surgical centers. A small percentage also work at other organizations like: independent coding and billing service and insurance companies.
They work mostly full time business hours. If they work at a healthcare facility that operates 24 hours they may work on shifts, overnight and weekends.
Over the last years there are opportunities for at-home working, although these positions require years of proven working experience.
Becoming a Medical Coder
Step 1: High School Preparation High School Courses for Medical Coders
Step 2: Complete an Accredited Program in Medical CodingMedical Billing & Coding Certificate Program 6 months – 1 year
Associate of Science in Medical Coding degree program – 2 years
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Step 3: Get Certified
While certification is voluntary its worth pursuing it. Having a certification will demonstrate to employers your ability in various medical specialties and settings. Also according to studies certified medical coders earn 20% more than those that are not certified. There are 2 organizations issuing certifications: American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) and American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC).
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