There are plenty of opportunities when it comes to the field of medicine, with a recent demand in medical coding and billing. Medical coding has become a very important part of operations in the healthcare facilities and various other medical requirements such as, research and funding. For more insight continue reading below.

Medical Coding

At the core of the coding is record keeping, which dates back many years. However, with modern tools and techniques, record keeping has evolved to make things quicker and more efficient. This has given birth to coding and billing. In general words, it is converting medical data such as treatments, diagnosis, drugs, health care services, and many more, into universally accepted alphanumeric codes. These codes have made the record keeping and medical billing procedure easier and have allowed them to become acceptable across the globe. Various types of data are coded using different types of codes, keeping the coding procedure uniform throughout the entire healthcare industry.

Who is a Medical Coder?

Codes are important, but there will be no codes if there are no medical coders. Medical coders turn the medical reports, bills, research reports, drug reports, etc., into medical codes. They help bring a continuous and effective coding system in the industry, as they help code every data accurately and consistently. Once a certain doctor diagnoses a patient and prescribes them medication and a course of treatment, this particular data would need to be delivered to the insurance company, so that they can plan a reimbursement, or to researchers, for analytical work. The common medical language can be vague and confusing, so to keep the system entirely consistent and regular, medical coders turn the data into medical codes.

Medical coders are known for their keen interest in details so that they are able to recognize a certain aberration from a huge amount of codes effectively. They also should have a particular ethical standard because what they are coding can be highly confidential in nature.

Skills of a Medical Coder

Medical coders are usually trained in medical coding and billing. Training is important because employers tend to ask for a certain technical skill set in the coder, such as:

• Customer billing

• CPT coding

• ICD-10

• ICD-9

• HCPCS coding

• Health IT

• Inpatient coding and outpatient coding

• Clinical documentation

Other than these technical skills, a medical coder should also have a researching ability, communication skills, knowledge of computers, analytical skills, and efficient time management.

A Career in Medical Coding

To become a medical coder, you will have to take training from a certified institute where you will learn different and niche related technical skills. The overall training period is less than other medical professional training times. This means that one can complete this in a short period of time and become a certified coder with various opportunities available. A career in medical coding is also becoming a great avenue as one can earn an average salary of $40,000 per year.