Are you looking for a new career? Would you like to have the skills and the opportunity to work from your home if you choose to do so? Are you interested in getting into a fast growing field that is in high demand in today’s competitive job market?

Then the field of Medical billing and coding may be right for you.

You might be wondering what kinds of jobs and career opportunities you can find in the field of Medical billing and coding. And it is important to know what kind of opportunities you can expect with medical billing and coding jobs before you invest your time and money in school and training.

The good news is that medical billing and coding jobs are numerous and you will have the opportunity to work in a number of different settings. Almost every medical facility, including hospitals, clinics, doctors offices, rest homes and rehabilitation centers, physical therapy clinics, private practices, insurance companies and outsourcing agencies, all have a need for medical billing and coding professionals. In fact, virtually any type of medical providing facility will need a way to handle their medical billing and coding and the opportunities for medical billing and coding professionals are vast.

Medical Billing And Coding Jobs From Home

While medical billing and medical coding can be classified as different positions, typically a medical billing and coding professional will handle both jobs. Some facilities prefer to hire in-house and have an employee that works for them in the office while many others actually hire independent contractors to complete the work. In the case of being an independent contractor, medical billing and coding professional will have the opportunity to starting your own medical claims processing business or wherever else they may see fit.

The skills needed for medical billing and coding jobs would include a solid knowledge of computers and certain software programs. The majority of the work in medical billing and coding jobs is performed electronically and records are kept on computers. Computers have dramatically improved the efficiency of the medical billing and coding jobs and this enables doctors and medical providers to get paid faster and easier than ever before.

But this new efficiency also requires highly trained professionals to take over the medical billing and coding jobs. In addition to being computer literate, the medical billing and coding professional must have an extensive knowledge of medical terminology. Many medical facilities, especially those in specialty fields, will use a standard of codes (Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) code) that are repeated quite often. You may only use certain terms and codes regularly if you work within a specialized field, however, a broad knowledge of medical terminology is preferable and most of this will be learned in the initial training and some of the terminology will be learned in on the job training.

Medical billing and coding jobs offer wonderful opportunities with room for growth and diversity. You can work for a facility or an institution as an employee or you can also start your own freelance medical billing and coding business and work from your home. The need for medical billing and coding professionals is expanding and continuing to grow as the healthcare industry changes and expands with the changing population. You can also find entry level medical billing and coding jobs in all 50 states.

Medical Billing And Coding Jobs In

Alabama
Montana
Alaska
Nebraska
Arizona
Nevada
Arkansas
New Hampshire
California
New Jersey
Colorado
New Mexico
Connecticut
New York
Delaware
North Carolina
Florida
North Dakota
Georgia
Ohio
Hawaii
Oklahoma
Idaho
Oregon
Illinois
Pennsylvania
Indiana
Rhode Island
Iowa
South Carolina
Kansas
South Dakota
Kentucky
Tennessee
Louisiana
Texas
Maine
Utah
Maryland
Vermont
Massachusetts
Virginia
Michigan
Washington
Minnesota
West Virginia
Mississippi
Wisconsin
Missouri
Wyoming

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Salary For Medical Billing

Starting salaries are commensurate with experience and training. It is also very dependent upon the type of facility that you choose to work in. A hospital may offer a great opportunity for advancement within the facility while a small doctor’s office may offer opportunities to expand your responsibilities.

There has also been a significant rise in outsourcing for medical billing and coding jobs recently. If you are the type of person who is self-motivated with an entrepreneurial spirit , if you have great organizational skills with accuracy and a good attention span for details, there are some great opportunities for you to build your own medical billing and coding business from your home by getting assignments from different facilities and doctors. The work is plentiful and if you are self-motivated enough to ask for the business you can build a successful medical billing and coding business right from your own kitchen table. You will need a newer and dependable computer with an Internet connection and you will also need to invest in the appropriate medical billing and coding software. A fax machine may also be helpful but you may be able to just send everything via the Internet.

There are many wonderful opportunities for medical billing and coding jobs and the flexibility and potential for growth is such that it makes the field appealing for anyone who wants to get a great job in the medical field or who is re-entering the workforce.

There are many important jobs and functions within the medical field. Doctors and Nurses have important jobs that the public sees every day. Medical professionals, such as ultrasound technicians and phlebotomists are also very much in the public eye. But in the background there is a medical professional that keeps the entire business running smoothly and this professional is invaluable to every practice, every hospital, in short, every medical facility. This professional is responsible for making sure that accounts receivable are collected and accounted for and for making the business itself run smoothly. This professional is the medical billing and coding professional.

Medical billing and coding is the process of properly submitting claims to insurance companies in addition to following up as necessary in order to receive payment for services rendered by a healthcare provider. Long ago, a standardized system was put in place where certain procedures were uniformly identified so that basically the same process is used for most insurance companies, regardless of whether they are private companies or government-owned. Specially trained professionals are necessary to learn the process and these professionals are referred to as medical billing and coding professionals.

These professionals are employed by almost every type of health facility, either as an outright employee or as an independent contractor. These professionals are encouraged yet not required by law to become certified in the profession by completing an educational study program and then taking and passing an exam such as the CMRS exam, the RHIA exam or others. There are schools that offer both training and certification for medical billing and coding professionals.

The Healthcare Industry Is Strong

As the healthcare industry grows and hospitals and physicians offices need more efficient ways to collect payments and prevent billing oversights, the need for these professionals will continue to grow and expand. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, industry experts can also earn a decent income. The median wages for a qualified and trained expert in May 2008 was $30,950.00 per year with the 10 percent highest paid earning over $44,560.00 per year.

This is a profession that and enterprising individual can do in the comfort of their own homes, setting their own hours and working as much or as little as they like. Many skilled professionals work as independent contractors for a variety of different doctors, hospitals or medical facilities. This allows for the type of job that many people only dream of, being able to work from their own home, working their own hours and earning an income based upon their own hard work, an income that can grow as they grow their own business.

Medical billing and coding is a very valuable skill in today’s marketplace. Every healthcare facility needs trained and qualified medical billing and coding professionals and this valuable and practical skill can put you in demand for the most stable of careers. This is extremely important in these days of uncertainty in the economic climate. The field is just expected to grow as the decade passes with a projected 566,000 professionals in the workplace by the year 2016. Now is the time to get into this exciting and rewarding career path.

While it is possible to find courses and educational opportunities at schools and technical colleges, a big advantage these days is the fact that you can get your education, learn the valuable skills that you need and get your certification right online if you have access to the Internet.

Medical Billing And Coding Online Courses

Some of the advantages of taking online courses to learn and get training are that you can attend classes when it is convenient for you. If you are currently stuck in a dead-end job that does not make you happy and it is time to expand your knowledge and skills and develop the expertise to start an exciting new career online classes can offer you a wonderful opportunity. You can take classes whenever and even wherever you like, when it is convenient for you. Now most course will provide deadlines for assignment and exam completion, it is your decision how to best fit the educational courses into your busy schedule.

You can also study wherever you want. It is not necessary to go to a special classroom in order to take the courses or hear the lectures. As long as you have an Internet connection you can be in class and you will cover the exact same curriculum that you would have in a traditional campus-based classroom.

It is also possible for you to enjoy the same types of interactions that you would have with professors and other students as you would in a traditional classroom setting. Email and live online chats, message boards and more make it easier than you think to communicate. And you can always communicate with your professors with email if it becomes necessary, in fact, it is expected.

Online Medical Billing Courses

Another huge advantage to online learning and getting your education to become a medical billing professional from an online source is that fact that there are so many opportunities online. Many schools offer online courses in this field so you will have the opportunity to select a school that is the best one for you instead of having to choose one that is in the area that you live. If you live in a small town or you are not in the vicinity of a school that offers the programs that you want, it doesn’t matter because you can take whatever classes that work for you online, right in the comfort of your own home with just your Internet connection.

The Medical billing and coding field is wide open and right now is a great opportunity to get into this exciting and lucrative career. Online courses can give you the knowledge, education and skills you will need to be successful at this important and crucial role in the medical industry.

As the health care industry continues to grow related careers such as medical transcriptionists and medical billing and coding specialists also continue to grow. There are some good opportunities within these fields and completing the training for these two important jobs can help a person to break into these important careers.

The job of a medical transcriptionist may seem simple since it would seem that one would have to just listen to the voice of a health care professional and type up exactly what is said and while this is the general idea the fact is that to be a professional transcriptionist one must be trained for the job. There are reasons why health care facilities and health care professionals only want to hire those who have had sufficient training.

Medical Transcription Training

One of the reasons that training is so important is because of the medical terminology. Doctors and medical professionals often use words that we may not hear in everyday language. It is very important that these words are understood and transcribed correctly. For example, if the doctor uses a word like “tibia” the transcriptionist needs to be able to recognize that the doctor is talking about a bone in the leg. If the words are not understood and the transcription ends up being incorrect it could negatively affect the patient, the doctor and the facility. This is a very important part of training and schooling.

Completing this kind of training can assure that you will be able to keep up with the demands of your job. There are times when you will have quite a bit of transcription work to do and if you must stop to look up words and phrases that you don’t easily recognize you will just be wasting your valuable time. And if you get the medical details wrong in your transcriptions you can cause problems for the patient, the doctor and everyone involved.

Medical Transcriptionist Training Online

Most training programs will also offer training to prepare you for other situations. Medical transcriptions may need to create notes for patients exiting the hospital, during medical testing and even in the emergency room. In these cases, it is very important that your notes are accurate legible and that everything is recorded correctly even if you are experiencing a high-stress situation.

It is vital for you to listen and understand what is being said. The information must be recorded accurately, quickly and efficiently. Training to be a medical transcriptionist will help you develop those skills that you will need to be able to transcribe and record information in a variety of different settings all while keeping calm under pressure. Many medical situations are high-pressure and this is one time when it is crucial to be accurate and precise.

What To Look For In Online Medical Transcription Training

Below is a list a things to consider when looking for training:

• AHDI-approved program
• Make sure the online courses are convenient and interactive
• Make sure they have real world experience from actual CMTs
• Is it college level education
• Program utilizes The Book of Style for Medical Transcription, 3rd Edition
• Nationally Accredited Medical Transcription School

There are also other fields that use transcriptionists and while the demand may not be quite as high as it is in the medical field, the opportunities are still there. Lawyers, along with other professionals sometimes employ transcriptionists.

In your training you will also learn how to make use of the most current technology, software and other resources that can help you to accomplish your work. Your career opportunities will rise significantly with the proper training.

The advantage to a career in medical billing and coding is the fact that the work can be completed at a different facility than the doctor’s office, the hospital or other location. In fact in many ways it is even better to have the medical billing and coding at a remote location as that frees up more space for the healthcare needs.

In the age of fax machines and computers, the patient’s medical records can be faxed or scanned into a computer to be sent to the remote location where the medical billing and coding professional can use coding software to apply the appropriate codes and submit the claims to the insurance companies. Many medical professionals are now using this type of outsourcing. Many medical billing and coding professionals choose to start their own home-based business and there are also specialized coding companies that specialize in remote work. Most often these companies handle the many aspects of coding, billing and transcriptions along with other aspects of medical administration all at a remote location.

Outsourcing tasks that can be completed elsewhere besides the office is a popular trend in many businesses these days and medical billing and coding is one of the businesses at the forefront of this trend. Many medical practices and medical facilities are turning to this highly effective practice.

It reduces the overhead costs that come from having to hire and house employees. A business that hires in-house personnel must expend time, energy and resources to find and train that personnel. They must also provide space in-house to accommodate these workers. Hiring a professional can eliminate a significant portion of these expenses.

One more great thing is it can save office space. Office space is often at a premium in many medical offices. Completing the work in a different location allows the offices to use their space wisely for what they do best, which is providing healthcare for their patients. This allows the physician’s practice to be able to work in a smaller and less expensive location because they do not need the extra space to house the medical billing portion of the business.

Scheduling problems can also be eliminated by using these types of professionals. In the past if a medical facility did not have their own coders they would used outside coders who came into the office on an as-needed basis. It has eliminated the need for scheduling this type of medical coding. All that a person needs is an Internet connection and perhaps a fax machine. They can complete the work on their own time and return the completed work to the office in a timely manner.

The quicker turn-around time that can generally happen with this kind of medical billing can increase cash flow. The reduction in office costs along with the potentially quicker turnaround time from the insurance companies can be a boon for the medical professional.

The medical professionals also have access to a larger pool of coding professionals. Since they do not need to settle on having just one or two medical billing and coding professionals right in their own office, they can have a larger pool of expertise to choose from. This is also helpful in the case of employee leave. If one coder needs to take some time away from the work for whatever reason, another coder can take over for a short time without the hassle of trying to find temporary employees.

There are many advantages for both the medical professional and the medical billing and coding professional. Many people work as independent contractors, which allows them the freedom to have their own businesses and work as they wish.

The health care industry is always growing and the need for medical coders in on the rise. Outsourcing this important function is becoming a more popular option due to the advances in technology, which can save time, energy and money. Both medical professionals and medical coders would be smart to look into this outsourcing and remote medical coding in order to stay competitive in the healthcare industry.