Have you always wanted to work in the healthcare field but you aren’t sure about performing clinical tasks like phlebotomy (blood draws) and injections? If so, a career as a medical biller and coder may be perfect for you! If you are interested in training for this career, it is important to receive training and get some experience to help ensure your success in the field. However, before you even start, do you think you have what it takes to be successful in this position? We have come up with a few traits that may prove to be important as you pursue your career goal!
1. Organizational Skills
Think about it; you may work in an office or other medical facility that has thousands of patient records! In addition to making sure that things are recorded accurately and securely, it’s also important to make sure that they are kept well organized. Fortunately, for those of us that are less organized in our personal lives, offices and hospitals will typically already have their own organizational system in place, so as long as you can follow the procedures they have set up, you should be organizing records in no time!
2. Attention to Detail
Once again, this one may seem obvious, but since you are looking at many files and recording lots of important and specific information, you must be thorough and accurate. Many other healthcare professionals as well as insurance companies and patients are counting on you to stay focused and record correct information. With the many records passing through your hands (or across your screen!) each day, it’s important to pay careful attention no matter how busy you are!
3. Communication Skills
Although you may not be performing clinical tasks or working as much with patients, you do have to be able to interact with a variety of people. One of the main groups that you will likely interact with is the patients. They may be upset or overwhelmed because of things happening with their health or the health of a family member. Being able to communicate clearly is very important. You may also interact with insurance providers and other members of the healthcare team, and they are counting on you to know your stuff and communicate concisely and well.
4. Honesty and Integrity
Trustworthiness is important in nearly any career. However, in the healthcare field, it is absolutely necessary. You must stick to a strict code of ethics that protects the patient, the healthcare facility, the other members of the team, and yourself. A thorough understanding of the HIPAA laws is necessary as you must follow them every day throughout your career.
5. Problem Solving Skills
Due to the vast array of codes that a medical biller and coder must be somewhat familiar with, it often feels like somewhat of a puzzle. In order to avoid mistakes or future issues, it is sometimes necessary to find your way through a variety of issues or events and codes to get to the bottom of a scenario and ensure that patients get proper treatment and doctors are compensated for their services. It’s not always easy; sometimes you may have to redo a claim or communicate with several people to figure out the situation.
6. Dependability
Once again, dependability is important in most career choices. In the medical billing and coding field, they are especially necessary due to the responsibility required by the position. You must arrive on time and ready to work. Once there, it is important to be able to work on your own and take initiative so that the office is always staying on track and not getting bogged down with unfinished records.
7. Professionalism
Part of being a professional is the ability to communicate effectively with a variety of people to get the job done right. As a healthcare professional, you will have to appropriately and directly communicate with patients, health insurance providers, and other members of the healthcare team regularly. You will also have to do so politely and clearly. Sometimes you may have to recover or retrieve information that was only taken in part by someone else which can be frustrating, but as a professional, it’s important to stay calm and courteous.
Interested in a career in medical billing and coding? Check out the Medical Insurance Billing and Office Administration program at Ross Medical Education Center! We would love to help you develop the skills you need to achieve your goals!