Not all jobs in the health care field involve hands-on patient care. Like medical billing & coding, it is an administrative job that ensures health care service without having to directly interact with patients most of the time. Nevertheless, it is an important field in the health industry.
Medical billers & coders responsibilities
- Review notes from physicians and other health care professionals. This is to identify the procedures and services the patient received.
- Follow up with physicians and other health care professionals in order to verity the services and procedures they have provided to their patients.
- Apply corresponding codes with the use of coding system
- Process and filing of insurance claims
- Follow up on claims
- Prepare and send monthly bills
- Report delinquent accounts to debt collection agencies
Although medical billing & coding are different, the job can be handled by one person.
When thinking of starting a career in this field, you will need to develop some of the personal traits mentioned below.
- Able to manage stress. This profession requires long hours. It is a very stressful job. Hence, if you want to be in this field, you have to know how to manage stress while performing your duties. You should learn how to say "no" to unreasonable work to prevent you from experiencing physical and emotional exhaustion.
- Compassion. You may not have to interact with patients and families always, unlike nurses do. However, you should know how to be compassionate and sensitive towards patients and families who are dealing with serious conditions or injuries. Through compassion, you can offer them positive experience while coping with their situation.
- Patience. As mentioned earlier, this job is a very stressful one. You need to have a high level of patience when interacting with patients while performing your roles. Some patients can be annoying when they are in a stressful situation, especially when they hear that their insurance provider will not cover some of the procedures and medications they received. So, you need to be patient with them when trying to explain why they need to pay for their medical procedures or medicines.
Education requirements for this occupation
This profession requires an individual to have a post-secondary education, such as business administration, health information systems, and other related courses. These programs are available through associate's degree, bachelor's degree or master's degree. The subject involved will include business, technology, and health care. Through general education, you will be able to experience hands-on training and gain extensive knowledge about the overall process of medical billing & coding.
Pursuing a career in this field is not that difficult. However, you will need to gain a solid foundation in this area so as to help you become a proficient medical biller & coder.
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