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Medical Billing and Coding Career

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MEDICAL BILLING AND CODING CAREER

Medical Billing and Coding
Wanda F. Pervish
Instructor: Elbert Trone
Learning Framework
12 December 2012

MEDICAL BILLING AND CODING CAREER
Abstract
When people think about jobs in the health care field, it can be easy to assume that most jobs involve direct, hands-on patient care. What many people don’t realize is that administrative jobs are equally vital to ensuring quality health care services. Medical billing and coding is an important piece in the administrative puzzle that makes up the vast health industry. As with most administrative jobs, medical coding and billing professionals need to have excellent attention to detail, as one wrong code or inaccurate statement can have an extremely negative impact on a health care facility.

MEDICAL BILLING AND CODING CAREER

Medical billing and coding professionals hold pivotal roles in hospitals, doctor’s offices, physician’s practices and specialty medical practices. They are responsible for the accurate flow of medical information and patient data between physicians, patients and third-party payers. Without them, healthcare businesses could not function efficiently.
A medical billing and coding specialist’s main goal is to provide medical billing and coding services so the health provider is paid for medical services rendered. Every medical service is assigned a numeric code to define diagnostics, treatments and procedures. It is the medical biller and coder’s job to enter this information into a database using medical billing and coding protocol to produce a statement or claim. If the claim is denied by the third-party payer, the medical billing and coding specialist must investigate the claim, verify its information, and update new details into the database. Medical billing and coding specialists are also responsible for dealing with collections and insurance fraud.
Medical

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