Medical Coding Jobs (Top Companies Are still Hiring)
What is Medical Coding?
Medical coding is the process of taking a patient’s health care information like medical procedures, diagnosis, necessary medical equipment, and medical services information from the physician's notes. A medical coder transforms this information into universal medical alphanumeric codes.
There are three types of universally known medical alphanumeric codes:
Intrnational Classification of Diseases (ICD): The World Health Organization (WHO) created this internationally used code. The classification system is largely used for the purpose of health recording and data collection, among other uses. These codes can classify symptoms, diseases, illnesses, and causes of death.
Current Procedural Terminology (CPT): CPT codes identify medical, surgical, and diagnostic procedures and services within the US. The American Medical Association (AMA) developed this system, which includes three categories: procedures and contemporary medical practices, clinical labs, and emerging technologies.
Healthcare Common Procedure Coding (HCPCS): The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) developed this coding system to help with processing insurance claims for Medicare or other providers. Coders use them to note medical procedures, products, supplies, and services.
Responsibilities of a Medical Coder
One of the core responsibilities of a medical coder is to ensure the accuracy of the medical records you transcribe and the codes you use. Other medical coder job requirements include proficiency in a variety of medical codes and adherence to the medical coding code of ethics.
• Transcribing patient information into appropriate medical codes
• Examining medical documents and records for missing information
• Conducting chart audits
• Collecting, researching, and filing patient medical information
• Ensuring all documents are grammatically correct
• Complying with medical coding guidelines and policies
Medical Coding vs. Medical Billing
Medical coding differs from medical billing in that medical billing deals with financial transactions between insurance carriers and health care providers. A medical biller is in charge of processing insurance claims, generating bills, and managing balances and payments for health care providers.
Medical coding, on the other hand, only pulls billing information and details from a patient’s record to translate into medical coding. So, while both professions deal with medical records, they are in fact entirely different jobs.
There are a variety of medical coding vacancies available, including entry-level positions for those with little or no experience as well as more advanced roles for experienced coders. Some common job titles for medical coders include:
Medical Coder
Medical Billing and Coding Specialist
Medical Records Coder
Medical Coding Clerk
Medical Coding Technician