A medical billing and coding program will provide you with the knowledge and skills you need to help make sure patients get the benefits they’re entitled to, while your healthcare facility gets paid for its services. You learn how to fill out billing forms, process insurance claims, and how to properly code medical records. Under the guidance of faculty who have experience in the healthcare field, you also train on industry software that can streamline the billing process, learn how to access and update medical records electronically, and gain experience with the industry’s diagnostic manual. Some of the courses you may take in your medical billing and coding program include:
Medical Terminology Fundamentals
No matter what job you have in health care, it helps to speak the same language as other medical professionals. In a medical terminology class, you learn the basic medical terms that make it easy to communicate with doctors, nurses, and patients. This also helps you understand the different health issues that you would have to code into a medical record.
Insurance Billing and Bookkeeping
If you don’t have any experience with accounting, this class will teach you the basics. You learn how to use a 10-key, or the numerical side of the keyboard, to solve math problems. You also develop a quick pace when performing simple calculations, and you become proficient in recording financial transactions. This course also shows you how to reconcile bank statements, use charge slips, and apply the principles of bookkeeping to your daily tasks.
Electronic Health Records
Patient medical records are managed digitally and known as electronic health records. This class shows you what an EHR is and how to use them. You learn how to accurately update EHRs with codes that tell the insurance companies what treatments and procedures they need to cover. You also learn how to comply with privacy laws and the fundamentals of electronic claim submission.
Institutional Billing, Coding and Reimbursem*nt
This course teaches you how to fill out the form that reimburses healthcare institutions through Medicare. You learn about medical revenue codes, the major diagnostic categories, and the electronic clearinghouse. You also learn to locate and code diagnostic code sequences, and how to identify the other hospital departments that need to fill out the form.
Computerized Billing and Coding
A computerized billing and coding course helps you become familiar with the software programs most commonly used by billers and coders to update EHRs and to file and track insurance claims. You also learn about EHR management, the principles of coding, and the activities that take place in a medical front office.
Medical Insurance Processing and Coding
As a medical coder, one of the most important tools you will use is the ICD-10. This manual includes codes for every symptom, diagnosis, injury, medical procedure, and treatment you can think of. You won’t need to memorize it all, but you will need to know the more commonly used codes. In this course, you’re introduced to the ICD-10, and you learn how to code diagnostic and professional services provided by the physician.
Insurance Claims Processing
This course helps you develop the skills necessary to file and process an insurance claim. You learn how to use software to input claims data and how to document actions taken in the payment system. Since insurance claims need to be accurate and free of errors, you can expect to complete a special claims project that will give you real-world experience with room to learn from your mistakes.
Medical Insurance Billing and Coding
After learning about billing and coding separately, you can bring your newfound knowledge of both into a course for billing and coding. Here, you learn about major insurance companies, government-sponsored health systems, and how managed care systems work. You also delve into the bookkeeping processes used in real health systems, and how procedural and diagnostic coding systems are used in insurance claims processing and submission.
Legal and Ethical Issues in Healthcare
To work in healthcare, you must understand the legal and ethical issues that professionals face in the workplace. For medical billing and coding, you explore laws and regulations for medical record-keeping as well as patient confidentiality. You also learn about the legal responsibilities of healthcare personnel and patients’ rights.
After you complete these courses, you’ll be well prepared for a career in health care. At Charter College, we offer an Associate of Applied Science in Medical Billing and Coding that can teach you the fundamentals of the profession. If you have already completed significant coursework in this or a related field, you can also enroll in our degree completion program. Classes are enrolling now. Call 888-200-9942 or fill out the form to learn more.
