Ohio State Career Training Center (OSCTC)

A medical coder is primarily responsible for filling out paperwork according to a national standard (known as ICD-10-CM) that are then used to determine how much to pay the physician for his or her work. A medical biller focuses more on the accounting side of things, making sure that patients and their insurance companies are billed the correct amount.

The Billing & Coding Specialist program will address topics such as medical terminology, basic anatomy and physiology, fundamentals of coding and analysis of medical codes for coding purposes, utilization of current procedural terminology coding systems (CPT and ICD-10-CM), international classification of diseases, official coding guidelines, preparations for practicum and evaluation, as well as HIPAA regulations.

Upon successful completion of the training course, graduates will receive a certificate and be eligible to take the National Certification Examination offered by National Healthcareer Association. Students who successfully pass the credentialing exam will receive a national license recognized by all fifty states in the nation.

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Medical coders assemble patients' health information including medical history, symptoms, examination results, diagnostic tests, treatment methods, and all other healthcare provider services. Technicians organize and manage health information data by ensuring its quality, accuracy, accessibility, and security. They regularly communicate with physicians and other healthcare professionals to clarify diagnoses or to obtain additional information.

Medical billers use the classification system to determine the amount for which healthcare providers will be reimbursed if the patient is covered by Medicare, Medicaid, or other insurance programs using the system.

Medical billing & coding specialists will work in pleasant and comfortable offices. This is one of the few health-related occupations in which there is no direct hands-on patient care.

According to data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment of medical records and health information technicians is projected to grow 8 percent from 2019 to 2029, much faster than the average for all occupations.

An aging population will require more medical services, and health information technicians will be needed to organize and manage the older generations' health information data. This will mean more claims for reimbursement from insurance companies. Additional records, coupled with widespread use of electronic health records (EHRs) by all types of healthcare providers, will lead to an increased need for technicians to organize and manage the associated information in all areas of the healthcare industry.