You may want to join a health care career but you have no idea of which sector to choose. Maybe you would like to work in an office rather than giving care to patients directly. If you are in this position, then you can choose to become a medical biller or coder. These professionals are in high demand since hospitals need frequent and timely handling of patients’ insurance and claims. Today, people can easily access different types of health insurance. As such, the number of insurance claims is expected to go up. So how about becoming a medical biller and coder? You will be working in an interesting field and earn a good salary at the end of the day. If you have no idea of the duties of these professionals, this post will take you through them.
The Duties of a Medical Coder
This expert’s work is to record everything that happens when the patient is at the hospital. This helps health organizations and insurance firms comprehend what took place. Some of the info recorded includes the symptoms and analysis of the patient and the doctor’s prescriptions. The medical coder job is an interesting field. The details collected are turned into numerical using the ICD and HCPCS standards.
Whenever a patient visits the doctor, every part and happening of the visit is transcribed in codes. The coder puts together the details using the above standards and each coding must match the details like the sickness, the tests, and prescriptions. In short, a medical coder;
- Reviews and analyzes patient records
- Transcribes the medical details and diagnosis in codes using ICD and HCPCS systems
- Maintains the privacy of the patients
- Cooperates with doctors and their assistants to make sure the coding is accurate.
The Duties of a Medical Biller
After coding, the information is installed by the medical biller in specific software. The information is then sent to the insurance firm facing the claim. Medical coders collaborate with medical billers to ensure the codes are accurate before this information is submitted to the insurer. That means that a medical biller depends on the accuracy of the medical coder.
Medical billers are vital elements that link doctors, patients, and insurance companies. Therefore, they must revise the codes sent by the coder. In a detailed form, a medical biller;
- Reviews and submits claims to insurance firms for patient’s treatment
- Verifies the eligibility of the insurance and its benefits
- Reviews the codes for complete accuracy
- Appeals the denied claims
- Answers questions from insurers and patients
- Set up plans for payments
Becoming a medical billing or coding professional is easy. There is enough training for this field that can be completed within one year. The programs available will equip you with the knowledge and skills you require to pursue the career.
Conclusion
If you are a person who is detail-oriented and can provide careful and accurate work, then you may be fit for this job. There is a plethora of places where you can work including hospitals, nursing homes, doctor’s offices, and more. Medical billing and coding are all about transcribing patient’s information into codes and billing the information to insurance companies for payment.
