If you’re looking for long-term job security and ways to advance your career, you may be interested in becoming more valuable to medical billing and coding employers.
Below, we’ve outlined a seven-step plan for you to achieve increased value and professional growth in the medical billing and coding job sector.
1. Complete Training Courses
Medical billing and coding are complex fields. The professionals you will compete with for jobs generally possess a good amount of specialized training and experience.
Research online or on-site medical billing or coding courses and select one that matches your job goals. Even if you have a full-time job and little free time, you can choose from an array of online training programs that allow you to set the pace of study. Inquire about whether the program you choose covers topics important to medical billing and coding employers such as:
- medical terminology,
- medical coding manuals,
- Medicare and private insurance claim processing guidelines,
- handling denials and appeals,
- maintaining regulatory compliance, and
- avoiding accusations of fraud or abuse.
2. Join a Professional Association
Become a member of a medical billing or coding professional association, which not only gives you a resume boost and discounts on training programs, but also is a prerequisite for taking many of the credentialing exams.
Joining a professional association also allows you to interact with a network of billing and coding professionals at meetings, classes and online. Some of the major national associations easily recognized by medical coding and billing employers are the: American Health Information Management Association
- American Academy of Professional Coders
- Practice Management Institute
- Professional Association of Healthcare Coding Specialists
- American Medical Billing Association, and
- Medical Association of Billers.
3. Achieve Professional Certification
Nothing could be a better asset in the eyes of medical billing and coding employers than attaining credentials from a nationally recognized association. Becoming a certified medical billing or coding specialist demonstrates that you have the skills required to meet industry standards and are motivated to enhance your professional value.
Here is a summary of the better-known medical coding credentials:
- Certified Professional Coder (CPC) from the American Academy of Professional Coders
- Certified Medical Coder (CMC) from the Practice Management Institute
- Certified Coding Associate (CCA) and Certified Coding Specialist (CCS) from the American Health Information Management Association
In addition, you can increase your value within a certain medical coding specialty by pursuing credentials in specific areas of medical practice, such as the Certified General Surgery Coder credential given by the American Academy of Professional Coders.
If your interests lie in medical billing, you may be interested in one of these well-known credentials:
- Certified Medical Reimbursement Specialist (CMRS) from the American Medical Billing Association
- Certified Medical Billing Specialist (CMBS) from the Medical Association of Billers
Lastly, you have a choice of a combination billing-coding credential, which is valuable to smaller practices that combine the billing and coding function into one position:
- Certified Billing and Coding Specialist (CBCS), offered by the National HealthCareer Association
4. Get Organized and Be Precise
Medical billing and coding employers don’t have much room for error. If a coder confuses codes, the practice could lose reimbursement money or risk an audit; if a biller falls short on documentation or misses deadlines, the health insurance company will deny paying the provider’s claims. Thus, these employers must hire very accurate and detail-oriented employees.
Health insurance companies aren’t the only entities scrutinizing medical billing and coding employers — the federal government is also cracking down as it moves to enforce the Affordable Care Act of 2010 and eliminate Medicare waste and fraud. While you shouldn’t let these challenges deter you from entering the field, the risks emphasize the importance of remaining at the top of your professional game.
Tips: Aim to excel at your job, learn all you can, keep up with evolving regulations, strictly adhere to policies, and eliminate errors – and never try to cover up your mistakes.
5. Network and Ask for Help
One way to stay abreast of new information and excel at your job is by joining an active online community of professional medical billers or coders.
These online forums, such as the one hosted by the American Academy of Professional Coders, allow you to network with fellow professionals and access a variety of input on medical billing and coding conundrums.
Remember, the more you participate in these forums and contribute your own experience to the group, the more likely the participants will be to help you when you have challenging coding questions.
6. Participate in Professional Association Conferences
Attending an annual conference held by a relevant professional association is an ideal way toincrease your value to your medical billing and coding employer.
Convincing your employer to pay your way to these events usually is not difficult – most employers agree that these events are well worth the expense given the up-to-date knowledge and tips that billers and coders can pick up over three days of intense, targeted sessions.
As you build your skills and experience as a medical billing or coding authority, you may be asked to lead webinars or workshops and serve as an expert source for trade publications. Achieving these goals means career advancement for you as well as good publicity for your employer.
7. Continue Your Education
Continuing your professional development shows current and future medical billing and coding employers that you’re serious about success. Also, in order to maintain your medical billing or coding certification, you are required to participate in ongoing professional training.
Details: To renew your credential, you will need to earn a certain number of continuing education credits (CEUs) each year, which typically amounts to 12-15 hours of annual study. In addition to attending association conferences, you can fulfill these CEU requirements by attending a variety of educational events, such as webinars, that your professional association has pre-approved for CEU credit.
Visit these two links to get an idea of the types of professional development opportunities available to medical billing and coding professionals:
- Trainings available through the – American Academy of Professional Coders
- Trainings available through the American Medical Billing Association
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