Medial coders and billers enjoy roles and responsibilities of the highest significance in healthcare administration. Together, they ensure that doctors, nurses and other members of the medical staff are reimbursed properly for the services they perform.
Both are paid well, and both have high demand in the industry.
But which of the two paths should you pursue? Which career path is right for you?
Well, to make a right decision for yourself, it’s vital that you know what medical coders and billers do and understand how their roles and responsibilities differ from each other.
Medical coders work to convert patient records into sets of coded information. Each set of information corresponds to a certain part of a patient’s visit. Medical billers then take this encoded information and use it to create claims that are then submitted to respective insurance companies for reimbursement.
If you dig deeper into the roles of medical coders and billers and try to understand what skill set is required for each position, you can then make sense of what role may suit you better.
Basically, since medical coders work directly with patient records, they need to have a firm understanding of medical terminologies and practices. They must be able to comprehend the information present in the patient record to identify the right coding scheme for a set of data and use it to successfully transcribe the information.
In simpler words, medical coders need to have a strong head for physiology and anatomy.
On the other hand, when you consider the role of medical billers in the healthcare reimbursement cycle, you realize that their work is more focused on the billing part of the cycle. They must have strong understanding of the regulatory laws; how individual insurance agencies process a claim, and how to use this information to create accurate claims for their employers. Medical billers need to be really good with compliance laws and numbers.
In summary, if you believe you’re comfortable working with medical terminologies, and you’ve a strong medical aptitude, then medical coding is a much better career option for you. However, if you feel anatomy and physiology are just too much for your liking, and instead, you’ll be much better working with numbers and ensuring compliance, then you should pursue a career in medical billing.
Whichever path you’re interested in pursuing, Allied Prep Tech can prepare you for a successful career in both. Our comprehensive medical coding and billing training programs equip you with all the skills required to competitively handle on-job tasks and challenges. For more information, click here.