Medical Coding Specialists

By Kent Pinkerton

Medical careers can be related to the manufacturing, administrative and management fields of medicine. Among all the careers, one of the most intriguing and interesting fields is that of medical coding. Medical coding is a boon to the medical industry; it saves time, money, and effort, and cuts down on the sheer amount of data that is necessary to keep medical records straight for the billions of people who receive medical care.

The profession of medical coding uses alpha-numeric codes to specific illnesses, injuries, and medical procedures. This process of assigning codes is done under the system of a particular rule of coding that is used across the world, from doctors' offices and hospitals to insurance companies and federal agencies. These codes are greatly utilized by the hospitals, nursing homes, labs and by the doctors for internal data collection and other planning objectives.

The job of medical coding specialists is to read and review medical documentation provided by physicians and other health care professionals. The coding specialists then provide details of the disease, injuries, surgical operations, and other procedures, but this decision is entirely up to the specialists. Then, this detailed information is translated into numeric codes. They assign special as well as general diagnostic and procedural codes by the use of a universally recognizable coding system. By the help of this code system, one has to fulfill the responsibility to insure correct code selection for all the regulations, and has to abide by the federal regulation and insurance requirements. These codes render great use in reimbursement of hospital and physician claims for various insurance payments.

Medical Coding provides detailed information on Medical Coding, Medical Coding Salaries, Medical Coding Certification, Medical Coding Specialists and more. Medical Coding is affiliated with Medical Billing Services.

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Medical Coding Certification

By Kent Pinkerton

Careers in medical fields are full of responsibilities, and dexterity in the specialized line of medical affairs is important. As time goes by, a career in the medical profession becomes more of a challenge, adventure and competition.

A medical career is often the most admired career of the world. A medical career is humanitarian, noble and is undoubtedly holds a very bright future for those who are after it. In terms of money, this field is promising. But in order to get into the medical arena, one has to have the patience and spend time in places like medical school, learning human anatomy and biology. The medical world has become a hive of inventions, discoveries and knowledge, based on up-to-date awareness. Therefore, it requires more knowledge to get established as a professional.

In recent days the coding industry offers many career opportunities to those who have certificates in coding. Starting from physician's offices and hospitals to healthcare plans, medical coding certification finds its way into the industry. There are a few organizations that provide certificates in medical coding. One of them is the AHIMA (American Health Information Management Association), which has provided over 50,000 certified medical coders with proper certification. Broadly, there are three types of certificates issued by most of the organizations in the field of medical coding. They are:

(a) Certified Coding Associate (CCA)

(b) Certified Coding Specialist (CCS) and

(c) Certified Coding Specialist-Physician-based (CCS-P)

Other providers of such certificates are the University of Phoenix, Boston University, Center for Professional Education, University of Connecticut, University of Massachusetts – U Mass Online, Netcom Information Technology, Sacramento State University, Northern Illinois University and many others.

Medical Coding provides detailed information on Medical Coding, Medical Coding Salaries, Medical Coding Certification, Medical Coding Specialists and more. Medical Coding is affiliated with Medical Billing Services.

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Medical Billing Careers

By Tony Jacowski

Since time immemorial, a career in medicine has been looked upon with prestige, and people consider it humanitarian and noble. A career in medicine calls for a lot of responsibility and the ability to update one's knowledge on the evolving medical technology. With the passage of time and innovation in the field of science, the medical profession is becoming very challenging. There are a number of fields within the medical career, such as Healthcare Administration, Healthcare Management, Medical Insurance Billing, Medical Office Billing and several others.

Basic Requirements For Medical Billing

The job of medical billing involves a lot of hard work and vast knowledge of medical terminology, anatomy, coding and proper completion of forms. In addition, you need to have basic computer knowledge and a typing speed of at least 35 words per minute. A good temperament is another important characteristic that the person needs to possess, since he is required to deal with a number of patients, their attendants, doctors, medical representatives and other office personnel.

Job Outlook And Employment Opportunities

Medical billing is one of the fastest growing careers in healthcare. The importance of medical billing personnel is on the rise, since several insurance companies and the government are continuously spending substantial time and money to nix fraud and abusive practices. Due to this demand, various companies and practices are constantly on the lookout for trained and experienced medical billers. Personnel could find positions with doctors, hospitals, nursing homes, insurance companies, legal offices, rehabilitation centers, legal offices and consulting firms or they could also work independently.

They could set up an electronic billing system through their personal computers. Independent medical billers can also work as insurance specialists and consultants. The job is lucrative and revolves around helping patients and medical professionals calculate their insurance bills.

Some of the other job opportunities that are included within medical billing are as follows:

- Billing Specialist
- Coding Specialist
- Medical Collector
- Patient Account Representative
- Claims Analyst
- Claims Processor
- Reimbursement Specialist
- Claims Reviewer
- Electronic Claims Processor
- Billing Coordinator
- Claims Assistant Professional

Work Culture

The work culture of medical billers is usually part of an office setup. More often than not, the personnel do not work in close proximity to where patients are diagnosed. They generally have billing offices and services in large corporate buildings, in small suburban offices and in the offices of doctors. They usually work during the day, from Monday to Friday, forty hours a week. However, there are times when, in insurance companies, they are required to work late at night. They are paid well for working overtime and their services are much appreciated by the medical establishment and patients alike.

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About the author
Tony Jacowski is a quality analyst for The MBA Journal. Aveta Solution's Six Sigma Online ( http://www.sixsigmaonline.org ) offers online six sigma training and certification classes for lean six sigma, black belts, green belts, and yellow belts.