Are you interested in becoming a medical coding specialist? Are you wondering what type of career you can get with a medical coding certificate?
Medical coders typically transform the written or verbal description of diseases, injuries, and procedures into numerical designations. There are growing opportunities for medical coding careers and coders can work in a variety of locations.
Medical coders can choose to have a specialty or expertise in their respective specialty disciplines, like pediatrics or cardiology.
To learn more about the basics of medical coding, read “What Is Medical Coding and Is It for You?”
Where Do Medical Coders Typically Work?
Medical coders may work in [3] hospitals (state, local and private), offices of physicians, administrative and support services, nursing care facilities, and professional, scientific, and technical services.
What Are the Different Specialties of Coders?
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, medical coders often have the following responsibilities: [1]
- Reviewing documentation to understand patient’s diagnoses and procedures and abstract physician name, dates, etc.
- Translating doctor’s notes and records electronically into code for insurance, payment purposes, storage, analysis, retrieval, and reporting
- Organizing and maintain data for clinical databases and registries
- Tracking patient outcomes for quality assessment
- Using classification software to assign clinical codes for insurance reimbursement and data analysis
- Maintaining confidentiality of patients’ records
Whereas, cancer registrants, a subset of medical coders, may also do the following: [1]
- Review patients’ records and pathology reports to verify completeness and accuracy
- Assign classification codes to represent the diagnosis and treatment of cancers and benign tumors
- Conduct annual follow-ups to track treatment, survival, and recovery
- Compile and analyze cancer patient information for research purposes
- Maintain facility, regional, and national databases of cancer patients
According to the AAPC [2], specialty medical coding certifications enable coders to “demonstrate superior levels of expertise in their respective specialty disciplines.” Additional certifications are stand-alone credentials and allow coders to exhibit their knowledge in particular coding areas.
What is the Work Environment like for People with Medical Coding Careers?
There are several work environment options for medical coders. Many medical coders work full-time [3]. Medical coders may work independently or with a team of coders. In instances where there is a team of coders, some may transition shifts to the next coder as schedules change.
Larger facilities may have medical coders who focus on medical specialties while coders who work in smaller offices could have a broad range of patients and medical conditions to translate. Depending on the employer, medical coders can have an array of additional responsibilities.
What is the Outlook for Medical Coding Careers?
There are growing opportunities for medical coding careers. According to the BLS, employment of health information technicians is expected to grow 13% from 2016 to 2026 [4].
Currently, 206,300 individuals are employed as health information technicians and medical coding specialists. By 2026, that number is expected to grow to 234,100. [4]
There are Growing Career Options for Medical Coders
As a medical coder, you may translate notes of diseases, injuries, and procedures into numerical designations, and you’ll be entering into a growing market. As a medical coder, there are plenty of opportunities to aid the documentation of diseases and illnesses while assisting physicians and doctors record their notes. Contact the Midwest Technical Institute (MTI) Admissions Team to learn more about enrolling in the Medical Coding Specialist Program.
Sources
[1] https://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/medical-records-and-health-information-technicians.htm#tab-2 [2] https://www.aapc.com/certification/specialty-credentials.aspx [3] https://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/medical-records-and-health-information-technicians.htm#tab-3 [4] https://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/medical-records-and-health-information-technicians.htm#tab-6