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Posted Wednesday, Jul 7, 2021 by Altierus
Interested in a career that plays an important role in healthcare, but behind the scenes? You may be researching medical billing and coding school options. Here at Altierus Career College, we offer an eight-month medical billing and coding diploma that can help you learn the knowledge and skills you need to get started pursuing job opportunities in the field.
On this page, we answer some frequently asked questions about the medical billing and coding career path, including duties and responsibilities, training options, certification, salary information, and more.
Medical billers and coders take healthcare records and convert them into electronic records using industry-standard codes. These codes are used to build patients’ medical histories, generate insurance claims, record payments, and provide anonymized data for medical research.
Medical billers and coders may perform the following duties:
Yes, although the two functions are closely related. Many people who work in medical billing and medical coding do some of both, especially if they work at a smaller organization.
Medical coding translates the information used in medical reports into codes that summarize what conditions the patient has, what treatments they received, and what supplies and medications were used to provide that treatment. These codes can be used for healthcare research and healthcare policy development, and they also create the information needed for medical billing.
Medical billing focuses on creating records (or using records created by others) to generate insurance claims and ensure payments are made to providers.
Our blog post “What’s the Difference Between Medical Billing and Medical Coding?” goes into this answer in more detail.
At our medical billing and coding school, students learn three main coding standards commonly used in the U.S. healthcare system. These are:
Current Procedural Terminology (CPT)®—CPT was created by the American Medical Association in 1966 in order to have a standard way to report medical procedures to insurance organizations.[1] CPT goes through regular revisions to reflect new developments in medicine.
International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision (ICD-10)—The ICD-10 is the World Health Organization’s set of codes which are used to indicate what illnesses or injuries patients have.
Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) Level II—HCPCS codes, originally developed by the U.S. government, are used to record what medical devices, supplies, transportation, medication or other services and items are used to treat patients.
Medical billers and coders tend to work in offices based in hospitals, medical practices, health insurance companies, and other related organizations. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the most common employers of medical billers and coders in 2020 were:
Medical billing and coding plays a key role in ensuring that patients’ medical histories are complete, accurate, confidential and portable—that is, they can be accessed by any medical provider or insurance company (as long as the patient gives permission for that access).
Medical billing and coding professionals can catch errors which could lead to incorrect bills or even medical practice errors, such as duplicate tests. Learn more about how medical billers and coders help healthcare providers and patients in our article, “Four Ways Medical Billing and Coding Supports Better Healthcare Service”.
Medical billing and coding students need a high school diploma or equivalent qualification, such as a GED. They should be comfortable working with computers and able to type with speed and accuracy. In addition, it helps to have an interest in medicine and healthcare, though previous college or work experience in the field isn’t a requirement.
Medical billing and coding school lasts less than one year. Students can complete our diploma program in as few as eight months in a format that blends flexible online coursework with one day on campus per week.
Students in our medical billing and coding program learn a blend of health science fundamentals, information about the insurance and healthcare system in the U.S., practical coding skills, and office administration skills. Topics covered in class may include:
Altierus medical billing and coding students also complete a practicum or externship experience in a real-world work setting.
You do not need a license to work in medical billing and coding, but obtaining industry certification can help with your career search. Along with your diploma from a medical billing and coding school, industry certification confirms for employers that you have learned principles of medical billing and coding to a high standard.
At Altierus Career College, we include preparation and exam fees for the Certified Professional Coder (CPC) certification in your tuition costs. Read more about pursuing medical billing and coding certification in our blog post, “Choosing the Right Path to Earning Your Medical Billing and Coding Certification.”
The BLS reports that the nationwide median annual salary for medical and health information records technicians (their term for medical billers and coders) was $44,090 in May 2020. The bottom 10% of medical billers and coders earned less than $28,800, while the top 10% of earners made more than $73,370.[3]
Salaries vary according to the job market you live in and your employer. We offer our medical billing and coding program in Tampa, Atlanta and Houston. Here’s what salaries looked like in those states as of 2020:
If you want a career that combines technology with medical knowledge and plays an important role in ensuring patients receive the insurance coverage and treatment they need, it’s absolutely worth it to go to medical billing and coding school.
Medical billing and coding professionals are also projected to benefit from strong job growth over the next ten years. The BLS projects that job openings for medical billing and coding should grow by 8% over the 2019-2029 period—twice as fast as the overall job growth rate of 4%.[7]
A career that makes a difference, is in demand, and takes less than one year to train for—we’d say that going to medical billing and coding school is a great choice.
Contact Altierus Career College today to learn more about our eight-month Medical Billing and Coding diploma program!
[1]https://www.aapc.com/resources/medical-coding/cpt.aspx
[2] https://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/medical-records-and-health-information-technicians.htm#tab-3
[3] https://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/medical-records-and-health-information-technicians.htm#tab-5
[4] https://www.onetonline.org/link/localwages/29-2072.00?st=FL&g=Go
[5] https://www.onetonline.org/link/localwages/29-2072.00?st=GA&g=Go
[6] https://www.onetonline.org/link/localwages/29-2072.00?st=TX&g=Go
[7] https://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/medical-records-and-health-information-technicians.htm#tab-6
Our Houston campus hosted Roadtrip Nation on their screening tour of their documentary film, One Step Closer.
One Step Closer follows roadtrippers Melanie, Armand, and Becca across America as they listen to personal stories about how community college shaped the careers of working professionals. Roadtrippers engage in honest dialogue with all kinds of professionals and asked honest questions about their struggles as well as their successes.
We’re excited to continue the conversation about postsecondary education and how Altierus Career College is providing options in career technical education.
Altierus Career College nursing students completed their first round of clinical rotations at Genesis Healthcare. Before graduating with an Associate of Science degree in nursing, students must complete 600 hours of clinical rotations in addition to their program coursework.
During their clinical rotations, students practice what they’ve learned in the classroom in a real healthcare setting, taking vital signs, transferring patients from the bed to the wheelchair, re-positioning patients who can’t get out of bed, assisting in providing oxygenation, as well as administrating medications, inserting and maintaining IVs.
This year, we started some great conversations with key industry partners about closing the HVAC skills gap at all three of our local campus locations. Altierus Career College hosted local HVAC businesses to talk about how to create awareness for career technical education (CTE) and train the next generation of HVAC workers and possible apprenticeship programs so students can earn while they learn.
In addition to local HVAC servicers, we also met with Tim Elliott, CTE program specialist with Georgia’s Department of Education. Tim was excited to talk about to how partner with high schools to create awareness of CTE.
This past March, 12 medical assisting students from the Norcross Altierus campus in Atlanta competed against 4,000 other students from 84 different schools in the region. Betty Wilkins, a Medical Assisting instructor for Altierus, applied for and received a Campaign for Innovation grant from the ECMC Foundation. The grant paid for HOSA membership fees, student uniforms, travel, and other expenses.
Students participated in competitions which tested their healthcare knowledge and skills. Five of those students placed in their respective events.
