Thursday, May 31, 2012

Medical Billing Career - Training Requirements and Job Opportunities


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If you have always wanted to be in a career that is connected with medicine yet cannot stomach the thought of blood and guts, much else having to deal with all of the costs of a medical education, then one option you can think about is the medical billing career.

What is It?

Every time a patient gets into a doctor's clinic or other medical facilities, they usually submit a claim to an insurance company. The claims are filled with the details about the patient, the diagnosis, medications, procedures, etc. that involves that particular patient. Each of these factors has codes that need to be submitted to the insurance companies. It is the medical biller's job to make sure that the right code goes with the right medications, diagnosis, procedures and the doctor involved so that the claim can be forwarded and processed. The medical biller is the person behind the scene of the medical field that makes sure that the exchange of profits goes smoothly.

Training and Requirements

No one can just walk into an office and say they want to be a medical biller. There is a lot of training involved like a medical coding and billing program education accredited with the U.S. Department of Education. There are numerous schools which offer these allied health courses like some colleges, junior colleges and online training programs. It will take about two years to complete the associate degree which involve taking classes in insurance billing, medical coding, human anatomy, physiology, pharmacology, pathology, medical terminology and others. Also, one of the most important requirements is to have the following skills: computer skills, typing skills, bookkeeping skills and a quick mind.

Responsibilities

The medical biller has a lot of responsibilities, foremost of which is dedication to the job for they can literally hold the safety of the patients and the money that will be exchanged. They have to encode the correct codes to make sure the patients get the right medications and they have to also make sure that the doctors and the health facilities will get their money. They cannot afford to commit a mistake although they can get away with a 1% rate of error which they cannot make a repetition of.

Salaries and Career Opportunities

The salaries of the medical biller will really depend on the locality and the number of year's experience. However, on average the medical biller could look forward to a $33,000 and $41,000 yearly salary for full time workers. The demand for medical billers is high and will continue to increase. Also, there are now some online medical billing services offered by those who have a home based business based on their skills.

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