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Medical coding and billing: A quicker entrance to the health care field For many years medical billing and coding has been one of many jobs that could be trained for and operated very successfully from home. That has not changed, and the need for skilled individuals in this field has dramatically increased. Schools Offering Online Degrees/ Training:
The cost of a university or college program may be more than purchasing the code books and trying to learn it on your own, but the difference in your salary will more than make up for the education. Several fine institutions in our system offer the exact courses you need to enter the health care field with medical billing and coding career. You will learn to understand patients’ medical records and will receive training in anatomy, physiology, disease processes and medical terminology. As a graduate of a medical billing certificate program you could work from home, or you could work in a doctor’s office, clinic, hospital, home health agency, or pharmacy. Occupational titles you might have include, but are not limited to, billing specialist, claims analyst, billing coordinator, medical specialist, electronic claims processor and patient account representative. Your responsibilities will include entering data for diagnoses, treatments and procedures using standardized CPT4 codes. These codes are used world wide, thereby enabling a health care facility to determine exactly what treatment a patient has already had and what condition the patient is diagnosed with. Accuracy is extremely important as a wrong entry could not only delay payment from the insurance company, but could also mean that a pharmacy or other agency could receive wrong—and potentially life threatening—information about the patient. Of course, the work is done on a computer and transmitted electronically to the appropriate sources; thus, while the work is demanding for a person working as an independent contractor, the coding can be completed any place where a secure internet connection can be established. Once you have a few years of experience, you could expect a salary in the $40,000 range. New graduates are more likely to earn $20,000 to $30,000, but according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average salary for a billing and coding specialist is $39,000 per year and is expected to increase due to the growing demand for individuals in this field. |
