training-medical-coding-blog

[training-medical-coding-blog]

Get Your New Career Started Now With A Medical Coding Course

The absolute best way to position yourself in a lucrative and stable career is by choosing in an industry that's poised to experience expansive growth. No other sector rivals the healthcare industry in this respect. Bearing this fact in mind, you can get your new career started now by taking a medical coding course online.

Doctors, dentists and other service providers in this field hardly have the time to manage their billing by themselves. Instead, most practices and hospitals hire billing specialists trained in all the protocols about these procedures. The training they receive is incredibly important, given that many insurance companies will not honor requests for payment if the related treatments and services are not coded correctly.

Every billable service that a health care professional supplies have its unique code. This code indicates the patient's diagnosis, treatment and procedures performed. Based on the provided information, insurers can determine the patient's coverage for all services rendered. Billers review medical records and provider notes to know more about treatments and to determine how best to code them when drafting invoices.

Errors in coding can be both costly and time-consuming. They might mean getting outright rejections from insurers and having to start the entire process over again. They can also result in providers getting paid less or even more than their services are worth. Numerous instances such as these and providers can run into serious legal and financial troubles. For these and other reasons, training is something that prospective employers focus heavily on when conducting their hiring practices.

This type of instruction can currently be received at your pace and on your own time. In fact, you can even complete the related requirements right from your very own home. With this level of flexibility, it will be possible to maintain your current job and cover your living expenses, even as you work your way towards a far more stable and much brighter financial future.

For more information on medical coding training, contact MedAdvantage Resources at 903-630-1700.

[training-medical-coding-blog]

The Importance Of Training Staff For Medical Coding Procedures

Even doctors and dentists have a hard time paying their overhead costs. This is certainly true of health care professionals who can never seem to collect on the services that they have rendered. Although some patients pay for treatments in cash or by credit card, most are relying on their insurance companies to remit these monies for them. Following are several reasons why you should be training staff for medical coding.

The determination and entry of specific medical codes for referencing services and treatments supplied is the most important part of the billing process. These codes clearly and effectively communicate to health insurance companies the type of services that have been received. If the wrong codes are entered, a number of costly legal and financial issues can ensue, especially if this happens to be a recurring problem.

Perhaps the greatest concern involving the accidental industry of false codes is the resulting delay in payment that will invariably occur. While this might not be too hurtful if it occurs on a single invoice, multiple infractions can raise red flags with insurance companies. In fact, these entities may even decide to take action.

Another important thing to note is the need to always protect patient confidentiality. There are a number of strict laws affecting this portion of practice operations and if these are not diligently followed, steep penalties are often leveraged. During their classes, your workers will be given simple and straightforward tips for always ensuring that patient information remains optimally secure, even as they conduct research for correcting or preventing coding errors.

Certain charges can get routed back to patients when mistakes are made. This can be bad for the reputation of a practice. While patients, providers and insurance companies can all work together to sort these issues out, problems like these are frustrating and inconvenient. More importantly, they can be easily avoided by simply having a team that has been properly trained.

For more information on medical coding training, contact MedAdvantage Resources at 903-630-1700.

[training-medical-coding-blog]

Secrets to Passing the CPC Exam in 2015

When you pass the CPC exam, you prove that you have solid knowledge of medical coding and that you are ready to begin working in the field. Since you have just two chances to pass the test before you must pay another $300 to take it again, proper preparation is vital. The test is 150 questions long, and you must earn a 70 percent to pass. That being said, the test is not an impossible obstacle by any means. With confidence and some studying, you’ll be fine.

As you prepare, take these tips into consideration:

1.  Study for the test with CPC practice examination questions. This will get you used to the types of questions asked and subjects covered.

2.  Manage your time well as you proceed through the test. Answer the easier questions first, leaving the harder ones for the end of the test. This will help ensure you have enough time to work through the tougher problems. It also gives you the confidence to tackle the harder questions with less stress. Don’t assign yourself a time to answer each question since some take longer than others, but do stick to a certain time table for different sections.

3.  This exam is open-book, so you can bring your study books with you to the test. The trick to not wasting time is to know where information is in the book should you need to look it up. Know the structure of your book, the table of contents, and where to find answers to commonly asked questions. Understand how to use the ICD 9 CM, CPT-4 and HCPCS books. According to CodingAhead.com, “Medical terminology [is] located in the CPT book just before the E/M section; [c]ommon abbreviations are listed on the back cover of the CPT book; Modifiers are located on the front cover of the CPT book.”

4.  Eliminate incorrect answers as you answer each question. Dismiss answers that are obviously wrong to help you focus on the ones that could be right.

5.  Highlight and mark important information in the books before you take the test so that you can quickly find the information you need. Mark up the margins with pertinent information. CodingAhead.com offers this example: “In AMA CPT Book Professional Edition under 'Excision benign lesion' you may highlight ‘For excision performed in conjunction with adjacent tissue transfer report only the adjacent tissue transfer code (14000 - 14302).’ Excision of lesion (11400 - 11446) is not separately reportable with adjacent tissue transfer. This would help you in [eliminating] the answer that contains codes for both adjacent tissue transfer and excision of lesion. Also add notes like '[T]his applies for [excising] malignant lesion (11600 - 11646) also.’”

References:

http://medicalcodingnews.org/secrets-to-passing-the-medical-coding-cpc-free-cpc-exam-questions/

http://www.codingahead.com/2011/10/tips-to-pass-cpc-exam.html

If you want or need help in preparing for the CPC exam, contact MedAdvantage Resources for information.