The increasing demand for medical coders in the healthcare industry has truly opened tons of lucrative opportunities for individuals looking for a fast-paced career in medical coding. According to the Bureau of Labor & Statistics, a medical coder has a median pay of $38,040; and the employment rate for this profession is likely to increase by 13% until 2020 which is much faster than most other professions.
Though the career outlook and prospects for medical coders look extremely attractive, let’s not forget that the job is equally demanding. What employers such as practitioners, doctors, and hospitals expect from medical coders is accurate and quick coding that helps them speed up and improve their revenue cycle and reimbursements from the insurance companies.
Let take a closer look at the job duties of technicians performing medical coding in New Orleans:
• Extracting Patient Data from Medical Charts
One of the most important responsibilities of a medical coder is to extract patient data on a day-to-day basis from medical charts created by doctors. These charts provide information about the procedures as well as diagnoses performed by doctors. In a complex case, a medical coder must collect this data from multiple physicians and translate each procedure and diagnosis into a relevant code.
• Code Research
Another task of a medical coder is to research for and interpret unusual medical procedures & unique kind of diagnoses. For such procedures and diagnoses, a medical coding specialist must search through medical dictionaries, anatomical charts, and other resources to translate them into accurate codes.
• Entering Data with Accuracy
Once medical codes are identified, the coding specialist must enter these in the hospital’s proprietary software program to compile and arrange information for every patient. The coder is also required to update and maintain other medical information in the system like surgery dates, doctors’ names, discharge codes, and types of anesthesia used.
Medical reports, diagnoses and procedures are transformed into universal codes to grow the physician’s practice and speed up the reimbursement process. Not only does it help doctors keep a track of the disease spread and effectiveness of a procedure, it also assists them in the medical billing process. These codes help bill and file insurance claims accurately and efficiently as they are passed on to medical billers to create claims.
Procedure codes like CPT (Current Procedure Terminology) and HCPCS (Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System) tell the insurer about the services performed by the doctor. On the other hand, diagnosis codes that are documented with the help of ICD codes show medical necessity or tell the insurer the reason for the medical procedure. All this helps in running a smooth billing process and minimizing the denial rate.
Medical Coding Certification Online Program
To perform the job duties of a medical coder, you must possess up-to-date industry knowledge, have sound technical prowess and the right set of skills to execute all tasks efficiently and accurately. For this, we recommend you to enroll in and complete medical coding certification online course.
Not only will it equip you with the right skills but also improve your chances of getting hired because employers prefer certified medical coding specialists over non-certified candidates. For more information about the program, call on 504.304.8826 and get in touch with us today.
Job Duties of a Medical Coder
