What’s it like to be a medical billing and coding specialist? In this blog post, we’ll touch on a few of the day-to-day tasks you might have in this field depending on the environment you choose to work in. Read this blog to find out if medical billing and coding is right for you.
Medical billing and coding is one program at ACHT, but it actually gives you two different career paths: medical billing and medical coding. Let’s explore what it’s like to do these jobs.
Medical Billing and Coding – Billing
People can’t get medical care unless their doctors can get paid for their work. Doctors are compensated through private insurance programs as well as federal ones like Medicaid and Medicare. As a medical biller, you handle communication between your medical facility and these organizations. After a medical coder gives you a code for a procedure (we’ll discuss those in more detail later), you translate those into the systems and documents that each insurance company prefers. Different insurance companies require different forms and documentation, so you’ll make sure that the right paperwork gets to the right places. You’ll also follow up with the insurance companies after you’ve billed them in order to make sure that your facility gets paid.
In addition to handling administrative duties, you’re a customer service representative: when patients have questions or concerns about their bills, you’ll be there to answer them and help them complete the necessary documentation. You’ll also help them arrange payment plans, if necessary.
Medical Billing and Coding – Coding
Medical coding is a challenging and vitally important profession – every facility needs at least one coding specialist, and these days, the industry is feeling a draining scarcity of qualified coders. As a medical coder, you’re an expert in several coding systems. These systems allow you to interpret medical terms for procedures, diagnoses and diseases and translate them into individual codes that can be processed by medical software. You’ll be able to figure out which parts of medical documents need to be coded for, and you’ll know which clarifications to ask for when doctors are rushed or unclear. You will review physicians’ notes for accuracy. Many medical coders work these administrative jobs within physicians’ offices.
Medical Billing and Coding – Working From Home
Working from home has become increasingly popular in many industries, including medicine. Now, medical coders in particular can help physicians by working wherever they please and on their own time. If you’re looking to work from home, you’ll still need to start out in a physician’s office, at least at first. There, you’ll learn industry-specific skills on the job, gain experience, and meet people who can connect you with a work-from-home job opportunity. But before long, you may well have flexible hours, workplace comfort and consistent job security – the whole package!
Medical billers and coders are sorely needed in the field today, so their salaries are rising. To learn more about medical billing and coding and ACHT’s first-rate training curriculum, drop us a line today!