Medical Billing and Coding Careers

Medical coding career opportunities are expected to grow significantly over the next few years because of the important role medical coders play in healthcare.

Medical Billing and Coding Jobs

Organizations

Medical coding jobs can be found in a variety of organizations, including:

  • Large hospital systems
  • Private hospitals—small and large
  • Government hospitals
  • National medical billing and coding service providers
  • Clinics and physician groups
  • Nursing homes and rehabilitation centers
  • Home healthcare agencies
  • Insurance companies
  • Law firms and consulting firms

Factors

The path you ultimately take on your medical coding job search will depend on a number of factors, including:

  • Level of experience and proficiency
  • Income requirements
  • Benefit requirements
  • Importance of freedom and flexibility
  • Personal motivation
  • Risk tolerance

Find Best College and Courses

Top Education
Courses 2021/22

We are ready to help you to learn any topic you are interested in.

Medical Biller and Coder Job Description

A medical coder is responsible for making sure doctors, hospitals, and other healthcare facilities are reimbursed for the services they provide. Medical coders do this by assigning standard codes to all tests, treatments, procedures, and diagnoses. These codes are then used to bill patients and third-party payers (insurance companies, Medicare, etc.) for the healthcare facility’s services.

Let’s take a look at how this process would work for a regular visit to the doctor. When the doctor sees you, all of the doctor’s notes are recorded in your patient record. These notes include what the doctor saw you for, what his/her diagnosis was, any tests that were ordered, treatment plans, etc. Within a few days of your visit, the medical coder is responsible for assigning codes to each of those bits of information in your patient record. This information is then used by the medical biller (who is a small practice is often the same person as the medical coder) to bill your insurance company and then you if an additional amount is owed.

If you think of all the different reasons people go to the doctor or hospital, you can start to get an idea of just how complex a medical coder’s job is. To further complicate things, there are several standard code sets, each used in different situations, giving coders thousands of codes to work with. The code is chosen to represent a given piece of information usually determines how much a provider can be reimbursed, so medical coding and billing is extremely important to a healthcare organization’s financial viability.

Because medical coding is so complex and important to each healthcare facility, medical coding careers require specialized training. (Learn how you can choose the best medical coding training.) 

Southern California Health Institute

Southern California Health Institute (SOCHi) is a leading medical coding school that offers the comprehensive, hands-on training you need for medical coding careers.

sochi.edu

Florida Technical College

FTC was founded in 1982 to provide post-secondary training in specialized business fields. Florida Technical College programs are exciting and dynamic, evolving over the years to meet the needs of students and the job marketplace

New York Institute of Career

NYICD offers nationally-accredited online career courses that conveniently fit your busy schedule. Get certified in a new field in a matter of months and start the new career you deserve.

nyicd.edu

Career Quest

Career Quest is career courage, confidence, creativity—so don’t wait any longer to take the first step to leveling up your professional life.

Healthcare Training Institute

As a medical technical school in NJ, Healthcare Training Institute provides career training for some of the most in-demand healthcare professions.