Medical billing and coding jobs are hot and
popular today because of the accessibility and low cost of training and after
that anybody who is certified will get a good chance to start a career as
medical biller and coder. This means that they will become a part of one of the
most progressive and fulfilling industry, the health care industry.
However, becoming a medical biller and
coder is not easy. It requires specialized skills that can only be obtained
through training. These skills include human anatomy and physiology, diseases
and what part of the body it affects, medical language, terminology and
abbreviation, health care insurance, and CPT and ICD-9-CM coding databases.
These subjects form the key skills required
from a medical biller and coder. The task they do will depend on these key
skills. Here’s a general overview of
what they do:
- Insurance verification – the medical biller and coder must be well adept in the standard checks performed in determining accurate insurance information and personal information of patients.
- Patient information – similar to the point explained above, the medical biller must be well adept in checking the patient’s personal information.
- CPT and ICD-9-CM coding – the medical biller and coder must be very familiar with the CPT and ICD-9-CM coding.
- Charge entry – this involves preparing the charge entry to be used in submitting a reimbursement claim.
- Claims submission – this is the actual filing of the claim.
- Payment posting – recording the payments and reimbursements received from the insurance companies
- Follow-up, denial management and reporting – these are the processes acted upon by the medical biller and coder towards the end of the revenue cycle.
I hope that the general overview of the
processes acted on by medical billers and coders gave you a good idea whether
this career is right for you.
