Do you want to pursue your career in the medical industry but have no interest in patient care? Then don’t worry. You can still serve in this field. You just need to earn billing and coding certification to begin your career as a professional biller or coder.
Medical billers and coders are an integral part of the healthcare administrative teams. They play a crucial role in streamlining the healthcare revenue cycle management.
Billing and coding are two different tasks. In a nutshell, coders are responsible to translate the patient’s diagnosis, treatments, procedures and medical services into universal medical alphanumeric codes. They extract this information from clinical documents including: physician’s notes, medical transcriptionist etc.
On the other hand, medical billers prepare and submit claims to insurance companies. They make sure that medical bills are being prepared accurately and comprehensively.
In some healthcare facilities, medical practitioners put the responsibility of both tasks i.e. billing & coding, on one person, depending on the size of their practice. While most of the practitioners prefer to hire separate billing and coding specialists.
Certified Billers and coders are highly skilful in performing the following tasks:
- Assigning precise and up-to-date diagnostic medical codes to describe medical services and procedures.
- Preparing comprehensive and easy to understand medical bills.
- Submitting error-free medical claims in a timely manner.
- Tracking filed claims and keep following up with the payers until healthcare providers get paid.
- Implementing effective denial management solutions to resolve unpaid medical claims.
- Optimizing medical accounts receivable collections.
It’s pertinent to mention here that handling all these tasks as well as stepping into the field of billing & coding doesn’t require any specific degree or education. You can easily pursue this field by completing billing and coding certification.
Why Are Medical Billers and Coders In High Demand?
Before diving into a further discussion regarding top medical coding and billing certification. Let’s discuss the top factors behind the growing demand for billers and coders in the healthcare industry, particularly in the United States.
- The growing complexities in coding standards demand specific skills and in-depth knowledge about the latest coding classifications. Therefore, medical practitioners prefer to hire certified and highly trained medical coders.
- Medical billing and coding is an ever-evolving field that is continuously providing exciting opportunities for those looking to enter healthcare quickly.
- It’s a highly rewarding career in terms of higher salaries as well.
- Coding and billing are also considered as flexible careers. As independent professionals have the option to choose freelance projects.
How Can You Become a Certified Biller and Coder?
Have you decided to grow your career in the fields of medical billing and coding? Then here are the quick basic guidelines that can help you to land in your dream profession.
The first thing you need is a high school diploma, GED, or equivalent. Next, you should find a professional school to have relevant training as well as billing and coding certification.
In general, medical billing certification of 6-8 weeks of full-time study to complete. Coding programs are longer, usually taking 1-2 academic years.
How long does it take to become a medical coder? It is the most often asked question. Most of the time, it takes between one and three years to complete certification and approximately 3 years are required for an associate degree.
- Certifications for Medical Coding
There are a variety of medical coding certifications that you can obtain in general coding sets. You can also earn a certification in a particular speciality to get expertise in a special discipline. You can choose from several national organizations that offer certification:
1.1. American Health Information Management Association.
The AHIMA offers the following medical coding certifications
- Certified Coding Associate (CCA): This certification equips you with basic coding competencies required to work in a hospital or other medical facilities.
- Certified Coding Specialist (CCS): After completing the CCS medical coders become able to classify medical data from patients’ records with a wide range of expertise in CPT and ICD-10-CM coding systems.
- Certified Coding Specialist –Physician-based (CCS-P): This certification provides medical coders with specialized skills for physician-based settings.
1.2. American Academy of Professional Coders
AAPC offers the following coding certifications:
- Certified Outpatient Coding (COC)
- Certified Inpatient Coder (CIC)
- Certified Professional Coder-payer (CPC-P)
- Certified Risk Adjustment (CRC)
The AAPC also offers coding certifications in the specialities such as:
- Ambulatory Surgical Center (CASCC)
- Anesthesia and Pain Management (CANPC)
- Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery (CCVTC)
- Emergency Department (CEDC)
- Evaluation and Management (CEMC)
- Family Practice (CFPC)
- Gastroenterology (CGIC)
- Specialty Coding Professional (SCP)
- Advanced Coding Specialist (ACS)
- Home Care Coding Specialist ñ Diagnosis (HCS-D)
1.3. Board of Medical Speciality Coding and Compliance (BMSC)
Medical coders, clinicians and compliance professionals can get billing and coding certification from BMSC. as it is an industry-leading provider of medical coding certification.
Board of Medical Speciality Coding and Compliance offers the following courses:
- Specialty Coding Professional (SCP)
- Advanced Coding Specialist (ACS)
- Home Care Coding Specialist ñ Diagnosis (HCS-D)
- Billing Certification
You can complete your billing certifications from nationally recognized institutes including:
- American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC): AAPC offers Certified Professional Biller (CPB), which prepares billers to deal with the revenue cycle management efficiently.
- American Medical Billing Association (AMBA): AMBA offers a medical billing certification course and exam that are nationally recognized.
- Online Programs For Billing and Coding
It has been observed that online medical billing and coding certification has become a new trend. Because online courses offer flexibility and convenience as compared to other physicians programs. The completion of such courses can take up to three weeks and 3 months.
Many state colleges in the United States offer online courses for medical billing and coding. But you should be very careful while choosing the online coding and coding certification.
To determine the best medical billing coding online classes, you should consider the student as well as alumni reviews to make the best decision.
Medical Billing Benefits is reliable and insightful healthcare newswire. That helps you to stay at the top of the changes in the healthcare industry. To know more about billing and coding certification as well as compliance standards, pay a visit to our website.
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