Medical billing and coding professionals are generally included in the category of health information and medical records technicians. The information provided below pertains to that more general category, unless otherwise specified. Specializing in coding and billing, individuals work in an office and provide each medical procedure and diagnosis with a code using software for classification systems. The system determines the amount of reimbursement for medical providers when patients are covered by health insurance Medicaid, or Medicare. Coders may be required to use multiple coding systems, such as those pertaining to long-term care, physician offices, or ambulatory settings.
Medical Coding Skill Set:
Active Listening
Reading Comprehension
Speaking
Critical Thinking
Monitoring
Time Management
Required Abilities:
Near Vision
Oral Comprehension
Oral Expression
Speech Recognition
Information Ordering
Written Comprehension
Category Flexibility
Speech Clarity
Tools Used by Medical Billing and Coding Specialists:
Bar Code Reader Equipment
Calculators or Accessories
Microfiche Viewers
Postal Scales
Scanners
At a Glance: Salary Statistics
Medical Records and Health Information Technician Salaries for Industries
Popular Industries
Salary
General Hospitals
$37,960
Offices of Physicians
$30,120
Nursing Care Facilities
$33,880
Outpatient Care Centers
$32,980
Home Health Care Services
$34,860
Typical Work Activities
Getting Information
Interacting with Computers
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work
Maintaining Relationships
Medical Records and Health Information Technician Salaries for Popular Cities and States
*Popular industries, cities and states are those with the highest employment levels for medical records and health information technicians as updated by BLS.gov May 2011.
37,700 new medical records and health information technician jobs
21% increase in employment
Medical billing and coding employment is anticipated to increase by 21 percent from 2010 through 2020, which is much faster than the average for other occupations. Opportunities in this market are high like many jobs in the healthcare field.
Job prospects are expected to be very good and general surgical and medical hospitals, physician offices, and nursing care facilities will have the highest levels of employment.
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O*Net reported that 65 percent of individuals in this career have a high school diploma or equivalent. An additional 21 percent have some college, but no degree. Ten percent hold an associate’s degree resulting from completion of a program that includes anatomy, physiology, medical terminology, clinical coding and classification systems, and healthcare reimbursement methods. Taking high school science, math, computer, and health courses may increase chances of admission into a relevant educational program. Coders may receive credentials through the American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC). Specialty coding credentials are offered by the Professional Association of Health Care Coding Specialists (PAHCS) and Board of Medical Specialty Coding (BMSC).
Related Occupations
Medical transcriptionist and medical and health services manager are two healthcare occupations with similar responsibilities. Transcriptionists listen to dictation created by healthcare professionals and transcribe this into correspondence, medical reports, and additional administrative material. Medical and health services managers, also called healthcare administrators or executives, coordinate, direct, supervise, and plan healthcare delivery.
