Medical Billing and Coding

Medical billing and coding workers are classified under the general heading of
health information technicians”. These are the people work behind-the-scenes in health care settings to compile, document and reference the information needed in order to bill for services as well as provide a traceable record of the patient's disease, illness or injury as well as procedures, tests, exams, and services provided. However, we have to recognize that medical billing and coding are two separate job functions. While it can be beneficial to have skills in each area, it's important to realize that each function requires its own specialized training and education.

Exploring a Career in Medical Billing and Coding

First, let's see how medical billing and medical coding are related by taking a peek behind the scenes of a doctor's office. After a patient has been seen by the doctor, a medical coder assigns a numeric or alphanumeric code to each of the services received. These codes not only help to track a diagnosis and treatments but are also used by in medical billing so that the health care provider can bill the insurance company for services.

Since all health care providers rely on reimbursement to stay in business, it's critical that procedures on medical coding and billing be done properly so that the proper level of reimbursement is received for each service and to ensure that no reimbursement is lost due to inaccurate, delayed, denied or unpaid claims. And if claims are processed incorrectly, a health provider might face fines of up to $10,000 so having competent medical billing and coding staff is key to any health care provider's success.

Due to the complexity of coding and billing, you'll need to take a specialized training in these functions to get the best jobs. Most medical courses on billing and coding will include instruction in anatomy, medical terminology, CPT-4 and ICD-9 coding, medical ethics and law, insurance abuse and fraud, insurance compliance, and electronic billing.

As health care services become more complex and more expensive, the need for medical billing and coding staff will continue to rise. The U.S. Department of Labor projects that 97,000 new health information workers will be needed to fill new jobs by 2010, making health information one of the 10 fastest growing health occupations in the country. This meant that the growth of medical billing and coding jobs is expected to rise by 36% or more in by 2012.

If you are looking for a health care related job that offers opportunity for advancement but does not require direct patient contact, then medical billing and coding could be the perfect career for you.

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Medical Coding Nexus, conceptualized in Feb, 2005, is an online portal which provides up-to-date, pertinent information about medical coding and billing. Copyright @2005 Honlyn Limited All Rights Reserved
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