Medical Coding

Scope Of Medical Coding

Medical coding is being increasingly used in the present scenario, to create a proper record of patient care, streamline the medical billing process, accelerate payments to physicians, and identify the healthcare areas that require focus.

Major factors propelling the growth of the market include the escalating demand for coding services, rising need for a universal language to reduce frauds and misinterpretations associated with insurance claims, and high demand to streamline hospital billing procedures.

The Medical Coding and Billing Industry has met the cutting edge of information technology due to which there have been several channels opened towards placements in the health information field. These open doors have diversified and created platforms for the aspiring generation who have laid their career in the health information field.

Medical Coders and Billers play an important role in the financial success of private practices and other healthcare facilities. The greater the expertise of the Medical Coder in identifying relevant diagnoses for patient encounters, the greater the insurance reimbursement to the physician this field generates medical coders who specialize in coding after a thorough training program and a certification process. The American Academy of professional coders (www.aapc.com) and American Health Information Management Association (www.ahima.org) offers certification.

There is a high demand for medical billers and coders in the current job market. Thus, coding-related jobs are expanding, due to the growing landscape of the business side of healthcare, along with their efficiency to automate large amounts of work. Hence, the escalating demand for coding jobs is likely to drive the market studied across the world.

In fact, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Healthcare is the largest U.S. industry, making this career a sound choice and healthcare support professionals, including Medical Coders, are one of the 10 fastest-growing allied health occupations, and, studies show that Certified Coders and Billers are paid accordingly for their exceptional medical coding and billing skills. Transorze Offers 100% Job Oriented and Certification oriented.

The technological advancements in the healthcare industry and constantly changing classification systems are expected to create potential revenue opportunities for players operating in the target market over the forecast period.

In addition, data security is a major concern for healthcare organizations, and offshore coding companies are also becoming aware of these data security concerns, while understanding that breach in a client’s data is likely to result in the loss of business. Thus, leading offshore coding firms are building a secure environment for the coders to work in.

Medical Coding Training Comprises

1. Anatomy: This is the study of the structure and identity of body parts
2. Physiology: This is the study of how these parts function and relate to one another.
3. ICD – 10: International Classification of Diseases which is the 10th revision Procedure Coding System. ICD-10 codes are alphanumeric codes used for diagnoses.  Every disease, disorder, injury, infection and physiological symptom has its own ICD-10 code.
4. CPT: Current Procedural Terminology: This is a procedural code and is used for reporting medical, diagnostic and surgical services provided by health care professionals. They are also used to track important health data and measure performance and efficiency. Majority of the codes are numeric in nature.
5. HCPCS: Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System. The main aim of this system is to ensure accurate, consistent billing and processing of insurance claims. HCPCS codes are mainly used for billing and identify items and non-physician based services such as ambulance services, prosthetic devices.

Medical Coding Curriculum

• Anatomy & Physiology
• Medical Terminology. Pre-fix, Suffix, Abbreviations
• All human systems
• ICD-10 CM
• Introduction to medical coding
• Structure & conventions
• General Coding guidelines
• Chapter specific guidelines
• CPT-4: Procedure Coding
• Evaluation and Management Coding
• Anesthesia Coding
• Surgery Coding
• Radiology Coding
• Pathology Coding
• Medicine Coding
• HCPCS Coding
• Medical Billing
• Revenue Cycle Management
• HIPAA Training
• CPC sample question papers with hundreds of coding practice scenarios

CERTIFICATION IN MEDICAL CODING

Certification courses for coding & billing are provided by two American institutes, the American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC) and the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA). The certificates provided by these associations are valid throughout the US and in India, and recently in Gulf countries like Dubai and Abu Dhabi, which have also begun implementing the training and certification provided by these institutes.

While there are several types of credentials by which one can become certified, the Certified Professional Coder (CPC) and the Certified Coding Specialist (CCS) are the most popular.

CPC (Certified Professional Coder) is a certification that is awarded by AAPC (American Academy for Professional Coders) and is the most recognized credential worldwide.  In most countries like USA, Middle East, UK etc. it is mandatory to clear the CPC exam in order to get a job. In India, it is possible to get a job without CPC certification but salaries slabs are lower than that of CPC certified medical coders