What’s it like to be a Medical Biller and Coder? First and foremost, medical billers and coders feel wanted. There’s a growing shortage – one that’s estimated to increase to approximately 50 percent by year’s end – among these healthcare professionals. Careers in medical billing and coding are in high demand, with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projecting ongoing growth of 15 percent in the profession through 2024.
Medical billers and coders primarily work in the billing departments of hospitals, clinics, and physicians’ offices. Essentially, they are the liaisons between healthcare facilities and insurance companies to facilitate fair and accurate patient billing for treatment.
An Average Workday for a Medical Biller and Coder
As a medical biller and coder, you’ll be working in an office environment most of the time, although some work alone, from home, assigning universal codes to each patient’s medical diagnosis or procedure. Once you settle into your desk, you’re typically greeted by a stack of patient notes from the previous day. It’s your job to go through the notes, evaluate them and assign each a code for payment. Coders are expected to meet a certain quota of patient notes each day so billing and payment doesn’t lag.
Once you gain your footing and develop an understanding of the task at hand, it definitely evolves into a routine. You’ll spend your days at a desk in front of a computer screen, reviewing and inputting information for coding purposes. It’s a job that requires a great deal of attention and accuracy, along with frequent refresher courses as codes are updated.
Becoming a Medical Biller and Coder
Now is an especially good time to enter the field, as codes have just changed and those trained in the new coding system are in high demand. If you are considering medical billing and coding training opportunities, a Fortis education can prepare you to enter this critical part of the medical field. Fortis offers a medical billing and coding program at select campuses in Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Maryland, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Texas – as well as online through Fortis College Online.
Visit our site for more information about a career as a Medical Biller and Coder, and the pathway to this in-demand profession.
