Fast Facts on Medical Billing and Coding

Interested in pursuing a career as a medical biller and coder? Read on to know more about the profession and what the industry has in store for you.

What the Statistics Say

Based on US Bureau of Labor Statistics data, the job outlook for medical records and health information technicians—to which medical coders and billers belong—is seen to rise by 21 to 26 percent from 2010 to 2020. This projection is definitely faster than the average for all occupations and only goes to show how opportunities in the said field are growing. As salary rates go, the median annual salary of medical billers and coders is $37,000 and above. The rates offered tend to increase depending on the level of position and the geographic location.

What Does a Medical Coder and Biller Do?

A medical biller and coder are in charge of encoding the diagnoses of physicians into the patient’s records. Coders, in particular, do some extent of analysis on the physician’s notes to determine the diagnosis. Billers also do some amount of encoding, especially if their job description entails them to. Otherwise, they’ll only have to focus on billing the patient and coordinating with health insurance companies.

Finding a Medical Billing and Coding Course

Searching the right medical billing and coding course for you is now easier thanks to the advent of technology and the prevalence of online learning. One Google search can bring up a myriad of websites of career training providers that offer state-specific medical billing and coding courses. A huge number of these courses satisfy the course requirements of local health departments and employers. http://www.meditec.com, a premier e-learning provider for allied health professionals, is one of the most popular medical biller and coder course provider in the United States.

Billing and Coding Training

Billing and coding training would largely tackle basic medical terminology, claims submission, insurance industry requirements, medical chart coding, specialty coding, policies, and the different kinds of coding systems like ICD-9 and CPT.

Types of Medical Billing

This is not often discussed by information providers but there are two kinds of medical billing: facilities and physicians billing. The most common billing type of the two is facilities billing, which include rehabilitation facilities, homes for the elderly, private clinics and hospitals. The other billing type is physcian’s billing, which require billers to manually complete a CMS/HCFA – 1500 (health insurance) form.