Medical coding is the conversion of symptoms or diagnosis, drugs, and procedures into codes. The financial success of hospitals, private medical practices and healthcare facilities depends on the efficiency of medical coders. If the expertise of medical coders is very high, the insurance reimbursements received by physicians will also be very high. Medical billing and coding is highly rewarding and it is a good career option because of the vast size of health care industry. You can work as a medical coder if you have an associate or bachelor degree in medical coding.
There are different types of medical coding schools. Some are vocational institutions and the others are online medical coding schools. Vocational institutions provide training in lots of other careers as well. On the other hand, students who select alternative distance education programs can complete the course at home. The curriculum of medical coding programs varies as per the schools. Generally, medical coding students need to study topics, such as:
- Human anatomy and physiology,
- Medical terminology,
- Pathology and disease processes,
- Introduction to ICD-9-CM coding,
- Healthcare laws and ethics,
- Medical records software,
- Medical billing software, etc.
As per American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA), ICD-9-CM coding may be replaced eventually with newer ICD-10 coding methods. ICD-9 coding is around 30 years old and therefore, the association is encouraging the usage of newer coding method. This newer version is used in 99 other countries also.
Online Medical Coding Colleges
You can find a number of accredited online medical coding schools for 2012, which offer training in medical billing and coding. Some of such colleges are:
- Herzing University,
- US Career Institute,
- Penn Foster Career School,
- AmeriTech College,
- Ultimate Medical Academy,
- Ashworth College,
- Bryant & Stratton College,
- Sullivan University, etc.
Herzing University
Herzing University offers Medical billing and insurance coding programs. Students can either take the course completely online or can attend one of the campus locations of the school. The university has six campus locations. After the completion of the course, you will get an associate degree in medical coding. Students need to study medical terminology and procedures, office administration, and insurance billing and coding, etc as a part of their course. You will also get training in CPT/HCPCS coding systems, CPT-4, and ICD-9-CM.
US Career Institute
You can earn medical coding certificate if you join the online medical coding programs of US Career Institute. You will get in-depth knowledge in human body and its functions, medical procedure coding, medical terminology, workers’ compensation, insurance claims, form preparation, etc through this online training.
Penn Foster Career School
Penn Foster Career School is another reputed online medical billing schools and it offers medical coding and billing certificate. This course trains you to attain necessary skills for becoming an efficient professional in medical coding and billing. After the completion of the course, you will be able to handle file claims, dealing with medical issues, completion of insurance paper works, etc. You will also study medical terminology, reimbursement methodologies, etc through this course. If you are enrolling in Penn Foster Career School, you can also appear of additional certification offered by AHIMA.
AmeriTech College
This college offers associate degree in medical coding, which enables students to perform duties of a medical coding specialist very efficiently. The course also empowers you to input patient information by using coding and billing software. The college trains students by using the latest coding systems to complete insurance forms.
Ultimate Medical Academy
You can earn a certificate in medical billing and coding in just 8 months if you enroll in the online programs of Ultimate Medical Academy. If you do not have time to go for regular courses, this training program will be the ideal one.
Ashworth College
Ashworth College is another trusted online medical coding school, which offer medical billing and coding programs to the students. This program contains 21 lessons, which are arranged to teach students the complex coding procedures very easily. They will also learn to process claims, obtain reimbursements, handling invoices, etc through this course.
Bryant & Stratton College
You can earn an associate degree in medical reimbursement and coding through the course offered by Bryant & Stratton College. If you complete the course successfully, you will be eligible for appearing national coding examinations, or you can simply start your career in medical coding.
Sullivan University
Sullivan University conducts online medical coding and certificate programs to the students and it empowers students to extract data for billing and reimbursement, analyze medical records, etc. The course covers topics, such as anatomy and physiology, medical terminology, lab terminology, pharmacology, information technology, etc.
Salary of a Medical Coder
The salary of a medical coder varies as per education, experience, certification, geographical area, etc. However, you can earn around $50,060 per year if you are a highly experienced and certified medical coder (Data based on BLS.gov (2009).