How to Start a Career as a Medical Coding Specialist?

Are you keen on becoming a part of the healthcare industry? If you think patient care and diagnosis do not come in handy but feel more technically oriented, medical coding can be an alternative career. After the prospective employment of doctors and nurses, medical coding is a much sought-after career in the medical sector. 

If you want to kick-start your career as a medical coder, this blog will give you a fair idea about what medical coding is and what medical coders do along with a guide on how to get started as a medical coder. 

How to Become a Medical Coder?

6 Steps to Your Medical Coding Profession

  • Decide whether you want to be a medical coder
  • Meet the prerequisites for Medical Coding
  • Join a Medical Coding Course
  • Find An Expert For Medical Coding Training
  • Get Certified 
  • Develop Some Technical & Soft Skills

If you’re looking for a career in the medical coding industry, here is a step-by-step guide on how to become a medical coder

Step 1. Decide whether you want to be a medical coder

If you are doubtful about starting a career in medical coding, move on only after clearing your doubts about this career. Here are a few facts about a medical coding career you should know. Let’s check it out. 

  • Medical coding is a lucrative career option in the healthcare sector.
  • Medical coding is an in-demand job as the supply gap for certified medical coders is over 40%. 
  • With automation forayed into the medical coding arena, there is a greater demand for analytically skilled coders. 
  • There are multiple career opportunities for medical coders for career advancement. 
  • As a medical coder, you can kick-start your career in the medical industry quickly. 

Now, if you’re convinced about the medical coding profession as a career, move on to the next step. 

Also Read: Reasons Why Medical Coding is a Smart Career Choice?

Step 2. Meet the prerequisites for Medical Coding

You must meet the medical coding qualification to pursue Medical Coding as a career. 

To start with your medical coding career, you must have any of the following medical coding course qualifications: 

  • A bachelor's degree or master's degree, preferably from a life science background or medical science background or anything relevant. 
  • A minimum of 50% aggregate in their undergraduate degrees and have basic biology knowledge.
  • Analytical ability to read and analyse medical records and patient details by using the right codes for the billing procedure.
  • Graduation in relevant fields and knowledge required to know anatomy and physiology modules. 

Step 3. Join a Medical Coding Course

If you meet the above-mentioned Medical Coding Course qualification, join a medical coding course to become a Certified Medical Coding Specialist. 

What is a medical coding course?

A Medical Coding Course is learning the codes used in the medical coding field to understand different anatomy, physiology, and diagnosis of the services, and the rules and regulations accordingly to maintain records.

Doing a medical coding course can give you complete information on medical coding, familiarize with medical terms, and better understand the scope of the medical coding as a career. Medical Coding Courses that enhance your computing skills will be helpful to make your basics strong. 

The best medical coding certifications available right now are here Top Medical Coding Certifications

Step 4. Find An Expert For Medical Coding Training

Even though the formal education requirement to become a medical coder is nil, you need to get qualified training in the field. If you are in Dubai or planning to study or work in Dubai, there are many options and training centers to get training in medical coding. Edoxi Training Institute is one of the famous and best training centres in Dubai, offering a Medical Coding Course. 

Options open to you are as a certificate or diploma programmes. The only difference between them is the time taken for course completion. Medical coding training is now available as classroom training and online training. All you need to do is enroll in for a Medical Coding Course in Dubai.

Check out: Top Medical Coding Institute in Dubai

Step 5. Get Certified 

Your training program will prepare you to take Medical Coding Certificate Exams. Appearing for medical coding exams and getting a Medical Coding Certification will improve your job prospects. It is a mark of how dedicated and hardworking you are to overcome the challenges of medical coding. 

  • AHIMA offers two credentials which are: The Certified Coding Associate (CCA) and the Certified Coding Specialist (CCS). Among the two, the CCS is top skilled and advanced. 
  • AACP also offers two certifications. First of all, the Certified Professional Coder (CPC) and Certified Professional Biller (CPB). In addition to these, a list of several specialized certifications are only required for those working in a specialist doctor's office, like rheumatology or urology.  

AAPC has made some changes in their exam, here learn Medical Coding (AAPC CPC ) Exam Changes

Step 6. Develop Some Technical & Soft Skills

Getting specialised training is key to success, but it is equally important to work on other skills that might help you work hassle-free. To be a successful Certified professional Coder and to pursue a career in medical coding, you need to have a handful of technical and soft skills. Some of the top technical and soft skills employers seek are given below. 

Top Technical skills for Medical Coders

enlisted below are the top technical skills for medical coders;

  • Knowledge in Medical Coding & Customer Billing
  • ICD-10 Coding Skills
  • CPT Coding Skills
  • Health Information Technology Skills
  • HCPCS Coding Skills
  • Anatomy and Physiology
  • Clinical Documentation Skills
  • Inpatient Coding Skills
  • Knowledge of Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) compliance

Top Must-Have Soft-Skills for Medical Coders

enlisted below are the Top soft-skills required for Medical coders;

  • Communication Skills
  • Research Skills
  • Computer Literacy
  • Microsoft Office® Skills
  • Teamwork/collaboration Skills
  • Organization Skills
  • Multi-tasking Skill
  • Analytical skill
  • Problem-solving Skill
  • Time management Skill

Polish these skills hand in hand with your medical coding training and you will see victory come to you naturally. 

Check out: What’s Next Steps After CPC Certification?

How To Prepare For A Medical Coding Job Interview?

After successfully completing the training and securing a medical coding certification, you may be ready to apply for a job in the medical coding industry. 

  • Get your Resume Ready
  • Get Back and Review
  • Practice Rather Than Studying
  • Do Research On The Company
  • Do Mock Interviews

Get your Resume Ready

As you learned to recognize medical codes in a split second and have become a certified medical coder, getting a good resume ready is the prime task. Unfortunately, recruiters can quickly tell good resumes from bad ones at a glance. Luckily, here's a foolproof way to ensure your medical coder resume lands in the 'approved' pile straight away.

This blog will guide you on: 

  • Tips and examples of how to put skills and achievements on a medical coder's resume.
  • How to describe your experience on a resume for a medical coder to get any job you want.

Get Back and Review

You've already been studying for your interview and it's going to be significantly easier to do last-minute interview prep.When you're in this situation, learn nothing brand new at this point. So try to make sure that you are as solid as possible in the things that you've already been preparing.

There may be things ‌you studied weeks or months ago that you don't quite remember how they work. This could involve solving an interview question doing the medical coding. Therefore, I recommend you review any specific topics that you feel are a bit difficult to handle. 

Check out: What's Next Steps after COC Certification

Practice Rather Than Studying

I highly recommend you to focus on practice rather than “studying”. Don't just read through a code, simply practice it. Learn to solve the problem. There are many sites which offer you free medical coding practice tests. Tests.com is one such site. 

Do Research On The Company

You may have been practising general strategies and hopefully have a framework you will follow once you're in your interview. If your resume is shortlisted for an interview, start researching on the company and try to understand what to expect during the interview. For example, what are they looking for in the role? What did the job description say? 

You may check on sites like Glassdoor and see what kinds of interview experiences other professionals had. Are there any specific topics that are repeated? Does the company have specific leadership principles or do they do some unique type of interview? Figuring out all these things can help you to be fully prepared. 

Do Mock Interviews

Hopefully, you've already been doing mock interviews to build confidence in the interview process. But, whether you have the confidence or not, doing mock interviews is one of the best ways to make you feel confident and don't go your mind completely blank when you walk in for the interview. 

Therefore, I suggest you schedule at least two mock interviews before your interview. These mock interviews will make you comfortable with the interviewing process and environment and prepare you to face the interview confidently. 

Let’s Conclude

Medical coding is a growing field with plenty of opportunities for Medical coders. Once you're in this field, only experience can help you make substantial career advancements. Medical coding can also make your dream of serving others a reality. To make the best career advancement, you may follow the steps I shared above to set yourself up in the best possible position. So, why wait? Make your foundation strong and start working to become a medical coding specialist now. 

FAQ's

What is Medical Coding?

Medical Coding is translating medical reports into short codes used within the healthcare industry. It helps summarize complex medical reports into efficient, data-friendly codes. 

Medical Coding is all about knowing how to navigate the three main code sets, such as Current Procedure Terminology (CPT), International Classification of Diseases (ICD), and Health Care Procedural Coding System (HCPCS). This code sets help coders to document a patient's condition and describe the medical procedure performed on the patient in response to their condition. 

Who are Medical Coders?

Medical coders are individuals responsible for translating medical reports into applicable medical codes. These professionals work behind the scenes in various settings, ensuring all pertinent information is coded appropriately to ensure consistency and accuracy.  But why is this done? Medical coding ensures smooth proceeding to billing. Further, whom do you think ensures if your insurance claims are made? Without a doubt, the medical coders. 

What Does A Medical Coder Do? 

Hospitals generate massive amounts of data daily. This range from diagnosis details, prescriptions, patient history to any set of procedures performed in a clinical scenario. 

Every time a healthcare provider (a doctor or nurse) performs a service, a code is assigned to each diagnosis and procedure. So, for example, let's assume that you're a medical coding professional reviewing the health record of a patient who comes for an X-ray in a healthcare facility. Once the technician completes the X-ray, the procedure is noted on the patient's chart. Next, the doctor examines the image to diagnose the source of the injury and identifies whether it's a fracture or a sprain. Then, the doctor may prescribe the treatment. 

Thus, the medical coder's job is to:

  • Read the doctor’s or nurses' notes and apply the appropriate codes for the X-ray, the doctor's examination, the diagnosis, and any treatment provided.
  • Collect and analyse the medical records and process them into a set of codes. 
  • Update patient records with standardised information needed for data management and billing purposes. 
  • Assign codes determining how the medical office bills the insurance company for the patient's visit. 

Your codes will help when patients need their insurance company to cover a claim. Proper coding will help ensure the insurer reimburses the provider promptly. Now that you know what your duties are, let’s guide you to start a fulfilling career as a medical coding specialist.

What is the career scope for medical coders?

Healthcare is the field where you can expect massive industry-wide growth in the upcoming years. So it’s not surprising that jobs for medical coders are also on the rise. According to the American Bureau of Labor Statistics, the employment of medical records and health information specialists to grow by 9% through 2030. 

How much do medical coders make?

According to the American Bureau of Labour and Statistics, the 2022 median annual salary for medical records and health information specialists is $32,509 annually, or $15.63 per hour. Health information specialists on the lower end of that spectrum make roughly $25,000 a year, while the top 10% earn $41,000. This falls slightly above the national average for all occupations. Experience, location, education and work setting can also contribute to higher medical coding salary ranges.

Locations Where Edoxi Offers Medical Coding Course

Here is the list of other major locations where Edoxi offers Medical Coding Course

Medical Coding Course in Qatar |  Medical Coding Course in Muscat | Medical Coding Course in Dubai  | Medical Coding Course in Bahrain | Medical Coding Course in Kuwait | Medical Coding Course in London | Medical Coding Course in Riyadh | Medical Coding Course in Jeddah | Medical Coding Course in Dammam | Medical Coding Training in Sharjah