How to Become a Medical Biller or Coder

If you’ve heard that the healthcare field is bursting with career opportunities, you heard right. But what if you just don’t have a knack for caregiving or you can’t stand the sight of blood? There’s still a place for you, because plenty of careers in healthcare don’t require patient care. Medical billing and coding is a great example. These professionals double-check that all the paperwork is accurate and submitted on time, making sure payments go through without a hitch. Their know-how helps keep insurance money flowing to hospitals, clinics, and doctors’ offices to ensure healthcare providers stay financially stable.

There are a few steps involved in getting a medical billing and coding career off the ground, and this guide aims to make it much easier with a comprehensive overview of the steps necessary to obtain the necessary education and land a great career in medical billing and coding.

Programs that might interest you:

Purdue University Global
PROGRAM: Certificate for Medical Billing and Coding

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Gain the health care, IT, and business skills and knowledge required by employers in health care. Study medical terminology, reimbursement methodologies, and more, and prepare for industry certification exams.

Should You Become a Medical Biller or Coder?

If you’re on the fence about attending medical billing and coding school or not sure where to start, it’s important to be sure your personality, working style, and job environment preferences line up with what’s expected of billers and coders. Before enrolling in a medical coding and billing program, consider the following questions:

If you answered yes to these questions, you might have a future working as a medical biller or coder. Now it’s time to figure out which training pathway to take.

Pick a Training Program

There are numerous educational pathways for those interested in medical billing and coding. Certificate, diploma, or associate degree – which path is the best? Because each has advantages and disadvantages, the answer depends on your specific professional and personal goals. Generally, the longer a program takes to complete, the more professional opportunities will result. On the other hand, a longer program means more money invested. Let’s take a deeper look at the options.

Types of Medical Billing and Coding Programs

Anyone considering a career as a medical biller or coder has a decision to make: which type of educational programs is right for me? In general, each student has three options from which to choose: certificate, diploma, or associate degree. Here’s a quick look at how each of these compares.

School Options

There are a few different places where you can get your billing and coding credentials. The most important factor to consider when looking at schools is to make sure you’re choosing only from schools that are accredited so your hard work to earn the credential will not go to waste. Most employers aren’t interested in hiring billers and coders who haven’t attended an accredited program. That’s because billing and coding is highly technical and requires specialized knowledge in the vast world of medical coding. Here’s what you need to know as you look at the school options available for medical billing and coding students.

Narrowing the Field

Once you figure out what type of institution to attend, your next step is creating a list of schools to apply to. Before you send off your applications, make sure you answer the following questions. Thinking through your answers will help you make the most of your education.

• Is the institution accredited by the appropriate regionally accrediting body?
• Is the program accredited by a top medical billing and coding organization?
• Can you afford the program?
• Is the program’s length and schedule appropriate for you? Keep in mind that the shorter the program, often the more intense the course schedule will be.

Start Applying to Schools

With your newly created list of schools, you can begin applying. During this application process, keep the following points in mind.

Finish All Your Courses

Whether becoming a medical coder or biller online or on campus, the bulk of the coursework will cover four primary subject areas: insurance, legal, coding, and the human body. Since each medical billing and coding program is different, how these subjects are taught will vary. You can expect to find classes such as:

Anatomy: This introductory course will provide a detailed overview of the names and terms of different body parts, areas, and systems.

Medical terminology: Students will receive a comprehensive understanding of common medical terms by learning the roots, suffixes, and prefixes commonly used in the medical field.

ICD Coding: Students will learn about Classification for Diseases or ICD codes. These are standardized diagnostic codes that provide uniformity when describing an injury or disease.

CPT Coding: This course will introduce students to Current Procedure Terminology codes, which are widely used in most doctor’s offices.

Health insurance: It’s important to understand the “end game” of billing and coding – and that’s to get the insurance company to pay their share. This course explains how the insurance claims process works.

Medical record keeping: Students will learn the basics of how medical records are kept, as well as the legal framework surrounding their creation and privacy. They may also learn EMR and EHR software, which includes billing in the software.

Find an Internship or Externship

You can’t beat hands-on experience. To boost your chances of getting hired and wow potential employers, aspiring medical billers and coders should seek opportunities for on-the-job learning. Internships or externships are great ways to gain this experience. While they might not be mandatory for the job, having real-world practice can make securing a position in the field easier. While “internship” and “externship” are sometimes used interchangeably, they are not the same. Internships usually last longer, are paid, and result in credit. In contrast, an externship usually covers a shorter length of time, is unpaid, and rarely lead to credit. Either way, each is beneficial in that they provide a real-world view of how billing and coding works. Given their benefit, it’s easy to see why someone would want to apply for an externship or internship. There are numerous ways to find one:

1. Check with the school. Many coding and billing programs have career services where professionals can help match a student with an internship or externship at local healthcare providers
2. Go to healthcare facilities. Reaching out to doctor’s offices, outpatient clinics, nursing homes, hospitals and other similar facilities can lead to fruitful results.
3. Professional organizations may have a formal internship or externship program available, such as AAPC’s Project Xtern, and some will have similar opportunities, such as AHIMA’s Mentor Match program. Even if no such formal program exists, the networking opportunities provided by these organizations will help interested individuals get in touch with healthcare facilities looking for interns.

Obtain a Specialized Certification

Medical billers and coders do not need certification in order to be permitted to work, but certification is recommended as it helps job applicants stand out from the crowd during the hiring process. Certification proves to hiring professionals that an applicant is serious about the billing and coding profession and is willing to take extra steps to excel. It also provides an opportunity to specialize in a particular area. For example, the Certified Coding Specialist (CCS) credential signifies that the individual has a requisite level of knowledge of classifying medical information within the hospital setting. The Certified Coding Specialist – Physician (CSS-P) shows that the credential holder has specialized knowledge for the doctor’s office setting. Other certifications are available that indicate a general level of knowledge or focus on administration.

After you choose a certification, it’s time to apply for and take the exam. Exams are often held at specific testing centers and require registration ahead of time. Test-takers can expect a testing process similar to that of a standardized test like the SAT or ACT. The format of the test varies depending upon the specific certification, but often consists of 100 or more multiple choice questions. Read medical billing and coding certification online to learn more.

Prepare Resumes & Apply for Jobs

Resumes are your opportunity to entice an employer to interview you. Most resumes follow a general format, so it’s usually best to stick with what employers expect – in other words, don’t get too original. A good resume for a medical biller or coder will contain three major pieces of information: education/training, work experience, and skills. A great reference from a doctor or medical professional can go a long way, too. These critical pieces of information effectively convey what you can contribute to the employer. Remember, the employer is looking for a person who can boost office productivity and revenue streams, so the better you can explain how you intend to do this, the more likely you will be to land the interview. You can include additional information, such as references, personal interests (which can serve as a conversation starter in a job interview) or your employment objective. Since employers usually ask about these things as a matter of course, these bits of information can be omitted if there isn’t enough space to keep the resume to one page.

To find out more about how to write a solid resume, check out the following examples:

• How to write a medical billing resume (with examples) from The Job Network.
• Medical Billing and Coding Specialist Resume Sample by LiveCareer.
• Medical Billing Specialist Resumes from Indeed.
• A Sample Resume for Medical Billing and Coding Specialists by Branford Hall Career Institute.

Practice for the Interview

If you’ve been accepted for an interview, congratulations! It’s now time to start preparing. To make the best impression, you should prepare to be asked several questions. While you could be asked about almost anything, below are seven questions you’re most likely to hear. Understand that how you answer will be as important as what you answer, so don’t get too worried if you don’t think you have the perfect response.

1. What skills do you bring to the table?
2. Do you have a professional certification? Do you plan to obtain one?
3. What medical software are you familiar with?
4. How would you handle a difficult coworker?
5. How do you keep current with changes in healthcare coverage and insurance?
6. How familiar are you with the ICD-10?
7. Tell me about a time when you had to handle criticism on a coding project.