Why Now Is the Best Time to Become a Medical Coder?

The outlook for medical billing and coding students is extremely bright! In fact, students seeking a medical billing and coding certificate are poised to benefit from the 7 percent employment growth, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), which is much faster than average.

The reason that medical billers and coders are in such high demand is pretty simple: ICD-10. ICD-10 is the new coding system that was federally mandated to replace ICD-9, a 36-year-old system used to code diseases, diagnoses, and clinical procedures.

The issue surrounding ICD-10 is that it represents a huge learning curve for existing medical billers and coders; coder productivity is expected to drop 50-70 percent as they struggle to adapt from the 17,000 codes of ICD-9 to the 140,000 codes of ICD-10. The change is so stark that employee turnover is expected to rise as well, as some billers and coders choose to retire rather than adapt to the new system.

All this means that those newly trained in ICD-10 will become highly employable to address gaps in both productivity and staff turnover.

What Do Medical Coders Do?

At its simplest, medical coding is the practice of assigning a numeric or alphanumeric code to every injury, diagnosis, and medical procedure. It is the responsibility of the medical coder to take the healthcare provider’s notations, such as a doctor’s diagnosis or a prescription for medication, and translate them, as accurately as possible, into one of these codes.

When a patient visits a health care provider, each section of their visit is recorded and passed to the medical coder, who then translates the relevant sections of these notes into numeric and alphanumeric codes. Tests, diagnoses, medication, and treatments all have an associated code.

While there are a range of codes that a medical coder will receive training in, the two most commonly used are the Current Procedural Terminology, or CPT codes, which correspond with the functions and services the healthcare provider performed on or for the patient, and the International Classification of Diseases, or ICD codes, which relate to a patient’s injury or sickness.

These codes are a universal form of communication amongst the various bodies that make up the “reimbursement cycle” in our healthcare system. By using these standardized codes, the medical coder enables information to be exchanged among disparate organizations, such as doctors, hospitals, insurance companies, and government agencies.

Once the healthcare provider’s information has been converted into the appropriate codes, these are entered into a paper form or, more often, a software program, and then passed to the medical biller.

What Training Is Needed to Become a Medical Coder?

Generally, you will need an associate’s degree or certificate to enter the medical coding field, along with a professional certification. Becoming a certified medical coder requires a variety of coursework in physiology, anatomy, and pharmacology.

Northwest’s schedule allows you to attend our Medical Billing and Coding Training, care for family, and have a balanced life in Las Vegas and still graduate in as little as nine months. We offer it in two formats: fully online or a blended program that includes online and on-campus classes, with weekly workshops and on-campus whiteboard classes to accommodate your work and family schedule. Each student is provided with a laptop for easy access to the internet and online classes.

What Does a Medical Coding Career Path Look Like?

Medical coding offers a range of workplace and career paths, from working in a doctor’s office to hospital coding across pediatrics, orthopedics, and oncology. Because of the largely digital nature of the profession, however, many medical coders now work from home on a freelance basis.

Most work-at-home medical coding experts work as sovereign freelancers. This means they’re accountable for setting their own work hours and fees accordingly. It also means as freelancers, they’re responsible for covering income and filing their own taxes.

Independent freelancers take on as many or as few jobs as they like, often accountable for providing their own tools and statement of income to the contracting business for their services.

The need for medical coders is already high and, as healthcare moves towards greater digitization, is likely to continue to grow. The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts 7% growth in medical billing and coding positions over the next decade, adding 13,800 to the existing 194,800 nationwide.

This faster-than-average growth offers qualified medical coders better career opportunities and pay scales.

A Vital Part Of The Healthcare Cycle

Taken together, medical coding and billing serve as a link among patients, healthcare providers, and insurance companies. As a medical biller or coder, you’ll need to be accurate, detail-oriented, and well-organized, as you’ll be a vital part of any healthcare provider’s staff.

As one of the premier Medical Billing and Coding Schools in Las Vegas, Northwest Career College employs established, seasoned instructors to teach you every aspect of medical billing and coding. Our student-focused approach puts you first, and we offer online and on-campus workshops to accommodate your work and family schedule.

We continue to support our students after they graduate, as our experienced Career Services team provides lifetime support and works with you to find medical billing and coding jobs in Las Vegas. Call us today at (702) 403-1592 to learn more about the exciting opportunities that our Medical Billing and Coding School can offer you!