On
February 16, 2006 the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability
Act was finalized, and enacted. This law is designed to establish
national standards for all health care transactions, and to ensure
the security and privacy of all health related information. The motivation
behind this law is to improve the performance, and efficiency of our
health care system.
This type of reform has created a need for qualified individuals who
can utilize the tools of this legislation, and assure full compliance,
and maximum reimbursement. It would therefore be a prudent move for
health care facilities to employ such individuals in order to avoid
mistakes that could have dire consequences.
The proliferation
of medical knowledge following World War II brought about an explosion
of diagnostic, and treatment procedures. As a result, there became
a need to organize, and standardize all these developing technologies.
Here is where the foundations of medical coding were born. Medical
coding met these challenges, and allowed for a more uniform way of
communicating health information under a common language. By January
1979, standardized definitions, and codes were adopted, and used by
health care providers, and insurance companies. Since improvements
and refinements of medical procedures are constantly being developed,
codes must be added and updated to reflect these changes. Today, the
number of medical and surgical procedures have become enormous, so
too have the codes to describe them. These overwhelming numbers of
codes and protocols have made outsourcing medical billing the standard.
Medical Billing and related occupations continue to be the fastest
growing opportunities in health care. Insurance institutions and government
agencies are investing huge resources to control claims’ fraud,
abuse, and establish some degree of reimbursement parity. As a result,
more insurance companies, and health care facilities are looking to
medical billing experts for help. These companies and practices are
looking for experienced and educated individuals; the legal consequences
of incorrect billing could be devastating. There is a movement in
the industry to make medical billers responsible for inaccuracies,
much they way accountants are for tax returns.
At present, there are no standards for educational requirements for
medical billers and coders. However, more employers are looking for
some formal training at an accredited career training institution.
These schools range in training time from nine months to two years,
anything less would not be considered adequate. There is a move for
certification, and several organizations are sponsoring certification
examinations in medical billing and coding. Medical billers and coders
earn as much as $8 to $10 per hour in the beginning, and could potentially
realize $30 to $40 per hours with experience and additional responsibilities.
Today, evolutions in the health care industry are happening at a very
high pace. It is only with the assistance of sophisticated computer
programs, and standardized coding procedures that medical coders are
now able to describe and characterize the tremendous number and various
kinds of medical and surgical procedures. These realities coupled
with government regulations, and health insurance guidelines have
contributed to the strong demand for experienced medical coders and
billers..Article
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