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Many people discover a rewarding career in medical billing and coding. It’s a high-demand skill that could land you a stable job—or even allow you to start your own business and be your own boss. But what exactly does a coding specialist do every day? Big Apple Training, the leading training center for certified nursing assistants, EKG technicians, and other health care professionals in the Bronx and Westchester County, is happy to explain.

If you decide to work in medical billing and coding, here’s some of what you can expect in your daily activities:

  • Patient Communication & Bill Collection: When you work in medical billing and coding, you provide an important liaison between doctors and their patients. Small medical and mental health practices especially benefit from hiring a medical billing specialist, as your services allow them to separate bill collection from their professional practice. With you on their team (or as an independent contractor), doctors and certified nursing assistants will instruct patients to direct non-medical questions to your office.

  • certified nursing assistantMedical Coding: What exactly do you “code” as a medical coder? As a medical billing and coding trainee, you’ll learn three major coding systems: Current Procedural Terminology (CPT), Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS), and the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10). When a doctor sends you charts and diagnoses, you will input each diagnosis and procedure into a special software application as a unique code. Each code tells an insurance company which service to pay for. This aspect of your responsibilities can be challenging and requires significant research—but that’s exactly what you trained for, and why your services are so significant. 

  • Problem-Solving & Quality Control: Every workplace is different—you could work at a cubicle with as many as 50 other medical coders, or by yourself in a home office. In any environment, your job will be an ebb-and-flow of smoothly completing your target (e.g. 100 charts per day) and solving occasional snags. One common problem is an incomplete chart, in which case you’d call up the doctor or nurse so you can input the proper codes. You might also come across a diagnosis you’re not familiar with, in which case you’ll need extra time to research it for billing purposes. Problem-solving keeps things interesting—be prepared to learn a ton!

If you’re looking for a new and exciting career, you can learn more about becoming a medical billing and coding specialist by calling Big Apple Training at (914) 437-7373. They have convenient locations in the Bronx and White Plains, New York. More information about all of their allied health programs, including certified nursing assistant training and phlebotomy classes, is available on their website. You can also connect with Big Apple Training on Facebook to learn more!

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