Medical Coding

Medical coding is a quickly growing career with a very high demand. Hospitals, outpatient care facilities and private practice doctors are experiencing a challenge to acquire and keep good, certified medical coding experts. Additionally, hospitals and private practice doctors are realizing that there are great benefits to having certain workers telecommute. This move is making remote medical coding a well paid job. The average salary range for a certified remote medical coder is $15 to $26 an hour. Outpatient remote medical coding specialists fall to the lower end of the salary spectrum and inpatient remote medical coding specialist are at the higher end because they must know how to do both inpatient and outpatient coding.

The way that remote medical coding works is the hospital scans the medical records and sends them over a special secure server using security networks such as HIPAGUARD. There are stringent federal regulations that govern how electronic healthcare transactions are sent and HIPAGUARD is fully guaranteed to meet and exceed these requirements. It is very important that the transfer of medical records is secure.

The remote medical coder reads the medical record and turns the information to a code. It details medical history, previous hospitalizations, record of treatment, medication and therapies as well as billing information and sources of payment. Each diagnosis and procedure is assigned a numeric code. Insurers use this coded information as well as public health officials and researchers as a way of monitoring health and healthcare patterns and other research activities.

The employees who perform remote medical coding are employed by the healthcare facility. It has been consistently proven that healthcare facilities that use remote medical coding as opposed to having the medical coding done in-house have a much higher retention rate of their coders. Additionally, production has also been proven to increase when medical coding is moved from the healthcare facility to the employee's own home. It is believed that this is due to fewer interruptions and less of the socializing that occurs within and office environment. Emergencies and illnesses are handled much the same as an in house worker. The employee calls in and their work is rerouted to other workers.

The training for remote medical coding is usually a two year program that can be obtained by many universities and community colleges. Upon graduation the students must take a national exam to earn their certification. If they pass the exam they receive the credential of Register Health Information Technician (RHIT). There are some colleges that offer a one year certification program and upon completion the student can usually take the exam and earn their entry level credential of Certified Coding Associate (CCA). The CCS credential, Certified Coding Specialist, requires experience. Coders should have several years of experience before they take the CCS exam.

Remote medical coding also requires knowledge of the rules and regulations that surround coding. These are published every quarter. Additionally, the codes change each year so coders must keep up with the many changes in the industry. This constantly changing landscape makes remote medical coding an increasingly complex job.

The Commission of Accreditation for Health Informatics and Information Management Education (www.cahiim.org) has information on how to become a remote medical coder. They have training programs that are accredited. There are both certified coding specialist programs and baccalaureate programs. Their website can provide more information.

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