Apart from IT, healthcare is evolving the fastest. Medical coding professionals can work in a variety of healthcare facilities, including hospitals, rehab, psychology offices, and any business that works with patients. Don’t stress – you won’t be working with patients, and you certainly don’t need to be a qualified doctor. Your job will mostly consist of administrative functions and algorithm coding. If this sounds like more of your kind of thing, read on.
You’ll Analyze Medical Reports
As a medical coder, you will need to assign codes to patient admission and treatments to calculate the payments that are due. There are specific codes for everything that you will find in a medical report. If a patient has health insurance, you will need to know what codes to bill the providers. Medical coding also requires you to keep detailed records of every medicine prescribed, needle or swab used. In most cases, you will have to shadow the physician and patient. Alternatively, you will have to rely on their memory to receive the right information, but this isn’t a great method.
Look Forward to Desirable Income
Working in a private healthcare facility might earn you about $40,000 a year. Hospitals and government-funded providers average just under $60,000. Based on where you live and the size of the organization you work for, you can earn quite a bit. For someone that doesn’t need seven to 10 years of education and 15 years of experience, this median salary is something to look forward to.
The more experienced professionals can earn at least a third more by relocating overseas where the average salary is higher.
General Responsibilities
Once you have qualified and have been employed at a healthcare facility, you will start to settle into a new routine. Mostly you will start your day by opening a variety of medical expense calculators, and patient billing software. There are standard ones that most hospitals and medical facilities use; however, you will probably find your preferences along the way. One very reliable tool is the MRA calculator for individuals that will help you to calculate the medical risks of patients based on the diagnosis they received.
As you gain coding experience, the job will become like second nature. Your main tasks will be to update patient charts regularly, create new codes, and fix any bugs in the code. Because most of your day will be behind a computer screen, make sure that you practice ergonomics for your seating position.
Career Outlook
The medical industry is moving and growing every day. The industry cannot keep up with the demand, and there is a shortage of many different types of medical professionals, including coders. There are a minimum of 120,000 new job openings for medical coders every year. You won’t have to worry about sustainability, and it is a career for life.
There are also possible travel opportunities if you are willing to relocate. The world’s population is growing exponentially so there will always be a need for qualified medical coders, ensuring job security.
If you are interested in a medical coding career, you are on the right part. With only some formal training, practice, and creativity to code, you can have a successful career in the healthcare industry.
