If you are thinking about taking a course in Medical Billing and Coding or are already in a course or working in the field, then you should be thinking about becoming a Certified Professional Coder with the American Academy of Professional Coders.

Certifications allow medical billers and coders to validate their knowledge and expertise in various medical environments. It will also help you earn approximately 20% more than non-credentialed coders, according to the American Academy of Professional Coders.

These credentials are nationally recognized by employers, physician societies and government organizations.

Being credentialed may also give you and your employer more confidence in your ability to capture lost revenue for the payment risk and protect their practice from unfavorable audits.

As a credentialed billing and coder, doors may open up for you faster in:

•  Physician offices or groups

•  Hospital-associated physician offices or groups

•  Health system-associated physician offices or groups

•  Home health agencies

• Physician groups at a university and or in a teaching setting

•  Compliance auditors or forensic auditors of physician claims

•  Physician billing services

•  Ambulatory Surgery Centers (ASC)

•  Outpatient hospital services not reimbursed by Ambulatory Patient Category (APCs) groups

•  If you are a consultant, educator, legal counsel, physician or other care-giver seeking a credential to demonstrate your command of outpatient medical billing and coding for physician services.

So get certified today if you are working in the field. If you are taking a course, be sure to take the certification exam shortly after your course is complete. There are also preparatory classes offered to help you prepare for the certification examination. Do it for yourself. This is a great accomplishment and will bring much more value to your degree.

After hours of working on your computer do you find that your wrists are sore and tired? If you are planning on entering a career in medical billing and coding, wrist fatigue could be a huge factor in preventing you from working efficiently. Medical Billing and Coding Blog has outlined the key medical problem associated with wrist fatigue, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.

What is Carpal Tunnel Syndome?

According to WebMD, Carpal tunnel syndrome “occurs when the median nerve becomes pinched due to swelling of the nerve or tendons or both. The median nerve provides sensation to the palm side of the thumb, index, middle fingers, as well as the inside half of the ring finger and muscle power to the thumb. When this nerve becomes pinched, numbness, tingling and sometimes pain of the affected fingers and hand may occur and radiate into the forearm.”

What causes Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and what are its symptoms?

While there are several possible causes of the disorder, normally it springs from repeated movement of the arms, wrists or hands, often times by typing at a computer for long hours. If you work long days on a computer and your hands and/or fingers feel tingly or numb at night, or if you experience a burning or shooting pain up your forearm, you could have a case of carpal tunnel syndrome.

How to Prevent Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?

According to WebMD, to prevent this wrist fatigue disorder you can:

• Sleep with your wrists straight or use a splint.
• Keep your wrists straight when using tools but try not to use splints.
• Avoid flexing and extending your wrists repeatedly.
• Perform conditioning and stretching exercises.

How Can I Cure Carpal Tunnel Syndrome? Read the rest of this entry »

“Hot Jobs: Medical Coders Are in Great Demand,” an article by Scott Andron in The Miami Herald, reports encouraging news about the growing need for medical billers and coders in Florida.  “Health information management might be for you, and a job as a medical coder might be the place to start,” Andron writes.

The Miami Herald is not the only publication that is optimistic about opportunities for medical billers and coders in Florida. According to Orlandojobs.com’s Employment Outlook for Central Florida report, healthcare jobs are among the fastest growing employment opportunities in Florida. The report points to fast-growing opportunities for physical therapists, registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, medical coders and medical billers.

What’s driving this growth? One significant force is the construction of new medical facilities in the state. One of the more promising could be the planned “medical city” in Orlando’s Lake Nona area. According to a recent article in The Orlando Business Journal, the development of this medical and research park has the potential to create 30,000 high-paying jobs in just a decade.

So, is Florida a good place to start and grow your career as a medical biller and coder? It certainly seems to be. We’ll be watching the trends in Florida and other states in the coming months and reporting on them here.

This is a wonderful and exciting time to be entering the allied health field.  No matter what work setting you are in, allied health professionals are in demand.  As costs continue to rise, there are greater demands for improved quality and safety in patient care.  To tackle these problems, the U.S. healthcare system is turning to technology.

Why do allied health students need to know about electronic medical records? The answer is simple – because you will use electronic health records to accomplish tasks once on-the-job.  The transition from paper records to electronic health records affects everyone working in health care today.  Consider just a few examples of the changes electronic health records bring to these jobs:

• Medical assistants enter patient information, such as vital signs, into the electronic health record.
• Coding professionals review electronic documentation in the electronic health record to determine the appropriate code for an encounter.
• Technicians working in blood and chemistry labs, radiology, nuclear medicine, cardiovascular medicine and other areas respond to electronic orders and send test results electronically using an electronic health record.
• Billing professionals use information in the electronic health record to prepare insurance claims and patient statements. Read the rest of this entry »

What is the best way to keep your eyes and your vision in tip-top shape, despite long hours at the computer?  Here’s some advice from Dr. Suzanne Offen, an optometric physician and founder of Offen Eye Associates . . .

Remember, your reading glasses might not be right for computer use. “When people are reading, they typically hold books or magazines about 16 inches away from their eyes,” Dr. Offen explains. “Compare that to 24 inches, which is the typical distance from a computer screen.” Her advice: You might need a separate prescription for the glasses you will use at your computer.

Turn down your office illumination. Dr. Offen states that if you are using a computer, you should keep your office illumination only one-half as bright as you would keep it for other office duties. “This is one of the biggest mistakes that computer-users make,” she states. “And it can really contribute to eye strain and fatigue.”

Avoid using older computer monitors. “Most new flat-screen monitors already cut glare,” Dr. Offen states. “But if you have to use an older monitor, equip it with an anti-glare screen.” Also: To further reduce eye strain, don’t locate your computer near a bright window.

Review your prescription if you wear contact lenses. First, you might need a different prescription if you work at your computer for extended periods. But there’s another reason too. “Many computer users complain of eye dryness,” Dr. Offen states, “which happens because people generally blink less often when they are using a computer. If you wear contact lenses, this problem can often be helped by changing to a lens for users who complain of dry eyes.”

Take breaks. “I recommend that computer-users take one 20-minute break every two or three hours,” Dr. Offen says.

Dr. Suzanne Offen is a board certified optometric physician in New York and New Jersey. She received her Doctor of Optometry from the State University of New York and has been practicing optometry since 1983. She began her practice in 1987 in Westfield, New Jersey. In 1988 Dr. Offen became certified as a Fellow of the College of Optometrists in Vision Development and became board certified in children’s vision.

While America’s eventual transfer to electronic medical records (EMR) is a foregone conclusion, the ways in which we accomplish the shift is still being debated. The key is to create a system that makes doctors’ lives easier, and not more difficult. To achieve this goal, medical coding professionals are crucial to the future of electronic medical records.

The most logical interface to aggregate all medical records is the internet. Individual computers that contain medical record information is a method of the past; to maintain all medical records – a  huge amount of  information – a web-based system is the only option capable of immediately updating and maintaining the digital system.

Aside from changing a paperwork-based system that has become standard practice for them, doctors are often times unfamiliar with the pages of coded medical terms that are central to electronic medical records. This is another obstacle that stands in the way of the full adoption of digital health records, and highlights the necessary inclusion of medical coding professionals in healthcare facilities.

Professionals who are trained and experienced in medical coding facilitate the full implementation of electronic medical records. President Obama guaranteed that every American medical record will be electronic by 2014; this means huge job growth for medical billers and coders. Read the rest of this entry »

“I love my kids and they deserve my time,” says Toni K, a woman who is studying online to become a medical biller and coder. “But I feel like I never get any uninterrupted time to sit down and concentrate on my lessons. The kids are always banging on my door, and then I feel guilty if I get irritated at them. Does anyone out there have any suggestions?”

We posed this question to Dr. Kenneth Ruge, a therapist who has written several books, including Where Do I Go from Here?

“Unfortunately, there is no one-size-fits-all solution to this problem,” Ruge states. “Overall, I would say that it is best to get out of the house, if you can. Get to Starbucks, for example. However, when kids reach age seven or eight, they might enjoy doing their own homework while a parent is studying – it can become a family study period that kids will actually enjoy. And kids can feel good if they know they are helping a parent reach important goals.”

Here are more ideas we gathered from people who have learned how to juggle studying with parenting duties:

Make sure your technology is not limiting you. If your only computer is a desktop at home, maybe a laptop would let you study over lunch hours at work. And laptops can now be bought for $400 or even less. Another solution? Print out your online lessons and carry them with you. Remember, paper is portable. Read the rest of this entry »

Did the word “deduction!” jump into your mind the minute you thought about opening a home office? If so, you are thinking wisely, because a home office provides many great opportunities to deduct business expenses from your taxes.

But be careful. The IRS has some requirements – and traps – waiting for people who break the rules about what can be deducted.  So be sure to follow these steps to avoid trouble.

Read what the IRS has to say. Download Business Use of Your Home, a guide that is published by the Internal Revenue Service. It spells out which expenses are deductible, how much of your home you can deduct as a home office, and more. You’ll also find some unpleasant surprises. Example: If you sell your home for a profit after you’ve taking deductions for a home office in it, you could end up paying capital gains tax on your business. (See page 14 of Business Use of Your Home.)

Talk over your plans with your accountant or tax preparer. Your strategy for taking home-office deductions will vary according to whether you own your home or rent, the physical layout of your home, the amount of time you intend to stay in your current residence, and other factors.

Keep complete records of all deductible expenses. A file cabinet is your best friend in this area. Set up files for office expenses, travel expenses, and all other categories. Also: Print out and file records of Internet purchases, invoices and other electronic documents that you will need to complete your taxes. Preparing your taxes will be much easier if you have all your records in one place.

If you have multiple clients, keep careful records for each of them. You will need to track the income for each of them – as well as expenses that apply uniquely to them – separately. Your accountant or tax preparer can help you set up filing categories to keep everything straight. Read the rest of this entry »

According to a December 30, 2009 article in the NY Times, entitled “Bonus Planned for Digital Medical Records”, Medicare officials have outlined a plan to reward medical offices and hospitals that maintain systems of electronic medical records. Under the proposed stimulus, billions of dollars will be handed out across the country to healthcare providers that keep updated digital medical records of their patients. The announcement is just a proposal, however, and the plan does not expect to be completed until the spring.

The article features a quote from David Blumenthal, the national coordinator for health information technology, who says that “Widespread adoptions of electronic health records holds great promise for improving health care quality, efficiency, and patient safety”.

The proposed plan will provide bonus payments to health care professionals who use electronic medical records for at least 80 percent of their medical instructions. These incentives will facilitate America’s full transfer to electronic medical records, which President Obama has promised by 2014.  According to Obama administration officials, using digital health records will reduce costly medical errors and duplicate testing.

The national implementation of electronic medical records will also result with a high demand for healthcare technology professionals, such as medical billing and coding specialists, who can help medical offices and hospitals maintain these systems of electronic medical records.

As a Biller and Coder, you may think that the only opportunity you may have is to sit at a desk from 9-5, Monday through Friday, doing the same thing day in and day out. Well, you couldn’t be more wrong!

There are many career opportunities out there for certified Medical Billers and Coders that are often overlooked. Here are some of those opportunities:

Being an Instructor—Specialty specific schools are always looking for certified Coders to teach Medical Billing and Coding; this can be a very rewarding career for a biller and coder.

Attorneys—Many Medical Attorneys are looking for qualified Coders for positions such as collections and recuperating “lost” or “unpaid” monies.

Forensics—Love the show?  Well, now, as a certified Biller and Coder, you can join their team, tracking reimbursement for various medical services.

Auditing—These positions are needed in hospitals and outpatient settings, and if you are lucky, many auditing companies send certified Billers and Coders all over the U.S. to audit medical records; this ensures that physicians are coding to the highest level and obtaining correct reimbursements.

Home Business—After “paying your dues,” you, as a certified Biller and Coder, could open your own home business, submitting claims and posting reimbursements from the insurance carriers.

As a certified Biller and Coder, you have many opportunities out there that are just waiting for the right person.  Could that person be you?