Why you should Consider Medical Billing and Coding Training

What is Medical Billing and Coding?

According to the US Labor Bureau, an 18% increase in the number of Medical Billing and Coding specialist will be employed by 2016. Employment for this profession is expected to grow much faster than the average for all occupations thought 2014.

Why such a growth you may ask? Growth is due to the increasing number of medical tests, treatments and procedures required by hospitals, as well as heightened scrutiny and accountability required by insurance companies, regulators, courts, and consumers. This change in the health care landscape has made precise and accurate documentation a necessity. Additionally, a new federal regulation requires all medical records be kept in electronic format, thus the need for more and more record keeping personnel.

Where do Medical Billing and Coding Specialist Work?

The majority of billing and coding specialists work in hospitals, nursing care centers, outpatient centers and home health care services. According to Salary.com, the average annual salary ranged from $33,370 and $41,561.

So can you work from home? Yes and this is one of the perks of this profession. You can work from home or as a freelancer, working for a number of different facilities. Keep in mind that this option becomes more feasible as you spend more time in the profession. It is hard to enter into this field and expect to work from home right away. Like in many professions, you will have to invest time fostering and nurturing your clientele. You will have to establish a name for yourself in the field, before you can start on your own.

What do I have to do to enter into this profession?

Medical billing and coding specialist most often obtain an associates degree from a community or junior college. These colleges provide flexible course scheduling and many online distance learning courses. This is a great degree to obtain online since many courses require a great deal of memorization. An online degree program will also allow you to study and take exams at your own pace and your own timeline.

While associate degree programs usually last 2 years, you may start by obtaining a certificate or diploma program that usually takes nine months to a year. Bare in mind that an associate degree or a bachelor’s degree program will lead to more opportunities for advancement and open doors for management positions.

Still not sure if a career in Medical Billing and Coding is for you?

Do you like talking to people? Do you like solving problems? Are you detail oriented? Are you interested in the healthcare industry but don’t want the stress of working with patients? If so, a career in medical coding and billing may be for you.

Medical billing deals with submitting medical claims to insurance companies, compiling records to charge for services rendered, calculating the amount of these services, preparing invoices to be mailed out to patients. They often contact insurance companies to determine the items and amounts that will be reimbursed. They make sure that the medical billing process runs smoothly. If you like working with people, talking on the phone, enjoy looking at numbers and like detail oriented tasks a billing career may be just for you.

On the other hand, medical coders specialize in translating patient medical charts to a series of codes that are clear and universally understood. They assign a code to each diagnosis and procedure for insurance billing purposes. If you like analyzing data, using medical software and working alone, a medical coder career may be just perfect for you.

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