Are you in a dilemma that from which part of healthcare you should start your journey? I guess you are ready to jumpstart, but your confusion is dragging you behind. Well, you can begin your work-life with medical billing and coding career. Because, why not?
Grab a chair and sit down. Read the perks of medical billing and coding career. After that, you’ll see this could be the right path for you.
What is Medical Billing and Coding Career?
So, what exactly is medical billing and coding?
Medical billing and coding are closely related to each other. Both practices are involved in the crucial reimbursement cycle. This cycle ensures that health care providers are paid for the services they perform.
However, to make it simple, I’m dividing the two at the moment. Let’s look at them as separate pieces of a more extensive process.
Medical Billing
Merely saying, medical billing is a payment practice that involves the third party. The billers take the necessary information and make a bill for the insurance company, called a claim. The entire procedure concerned in this is known as the billing cycle that involves managing claims, payment and billing. It is also called Revenue Cycle Management.
Medical Coding
Medical coding is to translate the pure form of medical terms into code into a numeric or alphanumeric code. There are thousands of code, yet the translation must be as accurate as possible.
The doctor or anyone in the healthcare provider’s office records every part of each patient’s visit. After that he/she transforms that visit into codes. After that, the billers use these codes in the billing process.
Job Duties of Medical Billing and Coding Specialist
Generally, a medical biller and coder have the same sort of duties. That means their employment facilities don’t matter to a greater extent. From clinics to hospitals to physicians’ offices, they use medical codes to document patient diagnoses and treatments.
Specifically, their duties include:
- Read and scan patient records
- Decide the correct codes for patient reports
- Use codes to bill insurance providers
- Commune with physicians and assistants to ensure accuracy
- Keep track of patient data over multiple visits
- Manage detailed, specifically-coded information
- Preserve patient confidentiality and information security
- Scrabble around for information in cases where the coding is intricate or unusual
- Receive and reassess patient charts and documents for accuracy
- Review the previous day’s batch of patient notes for evaluation and coding
- Ensure that all codes are current and active
Skills for Medical billing and Coding Career
You should espouse some necessary skills to build a robust medical billing and coding career. Skills needed for medical coding and billing are:
- Attention to detail
- Great communication skills
- Critical thinking
- Self-motivated
- Lifelong learner
- Organisation
- Analytical skills
- Technical skills
- Integrity (HIPAA compliance)
- Maintaining the patient’s security Good customer service
- Computer knowledge
- Expertise in accounting and bookkeeping
- Adept in medical terminology
- Can work as a team
16 Reasons to Start a Medical Billing and Coding Career
Getting yourself involved in medical billing and coding career can be the best decision of your life. Besides, it is not only rewarding but also an exciting career option for you.
Here I’ve summoned up 16 great reasons to start a medical billing and coding career. This includes:
1. Working in Allied Health
I believe the person behind the screen is accommodating and kind. You always find inner peace when you help others. If so, then medical billing and coding career is the perfect profession for you.
You will advocate your patients in lessening the costs. Also, as a medical billing specialist, you will play a vital role in reducing medical mistakes. Apart from this, your job is to ensure that patients’ medical histories are organized and correctly recorded. Thus, every single day you will devote yourself to helping your patients. One of the most significant rewards of this career is the sense of satisfaction you’ll have when you go home.
2. Work in a Profession that is in Demand
In this state of the art world, the implementations of new software are assisting the work of medical billing and coding. But you know what? There is no substitute for humans. Because, a man can input information, check for possible errors and inconsistencies like software. Moreover, human keep information organized in a way that other mortals can follow.
So, medical billing and coding career is one of the right options for you as it will always be a demanding job!
3. Job Flexibility
Do you want to jump into a full-time job straight away? Or slowly wish to step your foot in the door by working part-time? Whatever your choice is, medical billing and coding career offers flexibility for your ease.
You have the freedom to choose the work schedule while maintaining the lifestyle you desire. Moreover, you can work in many different healthcare facilities from hospitals to clinics. Even you can work from home also!
4. Long-term Satisfaction
This industry is continuously evolving and altering. By adapting to a changing aura, you will be satisfied with your job for an extended period. The changes in medical coding and billing can keep you on your toes. And this will make you to enjoy your job for sure.
5. Range of Education and Training Options
Medical billing and coding career gives you a range of training options. With the expanding online technical colleges, there are more options than ever for becoming a medical coder.
You can attend your lesson and train online, in a physical classroom, or a combination of both. It means you can be trained and achieve billing and coding accreditation on your schedule without quitting your current job.
6. You Don’t Need to Go to Medical School
If your dream is to work in the medical field but scared of the costs, this job is for you.
Becoming a specialist in this field doesn’t require a medical degree. Generally, accredited medical billing and coding schools train people in less than a year, which make this a practical way to start in an entry-level position.
7. Get Educated Online
To compete in these professions, you need to invest in proper education. Many medical billing schools offer convenient online courses. Also, some courses come along with job placement assistance. If you consider online courses, you should carefully research the options to ensure a proper fit with your schedule and educational needs. LIBM’s Medical Coding and Billing Diploma course can be a good option for you. Additionally, it will take not more than a year. Not that long, right?
8. Important Role in the Health Care Industry
Working in medical billing is a way to contribute to the health care field without years of training or being married to the job. You can be proud that you are serving in an industry which helps countless people every day.
9. Start a Business with Low Overhead
You can set up your at-home business also. In addition to education and training, you can start your career of your own. Therefore, you need a computer, reliable medical coding and billing software program, and a list of potential clients.
10. Save Lives
You probably think that how can you come to the patient’s aid as medical billing and coding professional. Why not, man!
Your job is to ensure prompt and accurate data. This behind-the-scenes yet important work keeps hospitals and clinics running and thriving. So by becoming a medical billing and coding specialist, you’re saving lives too. Voila!
11. Hand-pick Your Locations
In this profession, you’ll have the potential to work in diverse places. For instance, it may be a hospital, clinic, nursing home, administrative support centre, and even a medical lab. Thus a vast number of organizations require more experts. So, you can look forward to a dynamic job market with plenty of options.
12. Work With Awe-inspiring People
We all know that medicine is a serious business. But you’ll inevitably be surrounded by colleagues who have a quirky sense of humour. Eventually, you’ll get to learn that healthcare workers can be a fun bunch.
13. Impressive Salary
Medical billing and coding specialists earn a smart amount of remuneration comparing to others.
In the UK, the average base pay of a medical biller is £32,227 in a year. But with qualifications and prior experience, you can earn up to £40.000. Moreover, you can get additional cash compensation range between £4,086 – £4,086.
However, as a medical coder, you will earn between £17k to £29k with an average of £20,362.
Pretty impressive.
14. Remote Positions Are Increasingly Popular
Is medical coding hard? Umm, you might have tough days. But you can make life a lot easier by doing it in your favourite pair of sweatpants!
Most of your work will be on computers. So, some employers will give you the option to work remotely for part/all of the week. That’s awesome man!
15. Explore Freelance Opportunities
You know, by choosing medical billing and coding career, you can work as a freelancer also! For instance, if you are a parent, you might decide to cut back on work in the summer holidays. Freelancing provides the flexibility to choose when to work or take a break.
16. You’re a Coder!
Sounds curious, right? Medical billing and coding specialist and software developers are quite different from one another. But you technically wouldn’t be wrong to say you’re a coder!
Medical coding is all about determining and inputting the correct codes for medical conditions. Still, they are code! So why not make your job title sound awesome.
Epilogue
I’ve attempted to foregather all the necessary grounds of medical billing and coding career. I believe that this blog will put a full-stop to your confusion.
So, what are you waiting for? Leave that bewildering couch and step towards medical billing and coding career. Embrace this noble profession and shine bright like a diamond.
Sayonara!
