One of the most evolved courses today is medical coding. With a projected growth of about 13%, which means about 29000 openings, and various other wonderful reasons this has largely become a popular course. With no specific eligibility criteria, medical coding course is opted by many students. With flexibilities of work from home, the students can opt for this course to manage their fees for future courses. The timings are flexible and earnings are in your hands depending upon the number of hours you invest. So now figure out how you can optimize your stay at home with this easy and fast earning a career. All you need to know is the course and how and from where you can pursue this.
- Accredited universities with a detailed curriculum: There are some featured programs in some universities. These last for various durations, ranging from 1 year to 2 years. These provide a certificate for the courses and the cost of this is somewhere starting from $3440 annually. If you are opting for courses that include medical billing and coding both, the charges range between $4200 to $19500. This cost does not include the AHIMA’s certificate coding Associate exam of $299 and the AAPC Certified Professional Coder exam of $300. All this is worth the investment as the salary medical coding ensures is nothing less than $35, 374 or $14 per hour.
- Indian Fee structure: In the Indian currency, for this course, one student typically needs to shell out INR20,000 to 30,000. With the offerings of part time and full-time course, the fee structure can be inquired for at the institute. The institutes provide training in an interactive mode and offer a full window to ask questions. These courses are available online as well as classroom pieces of training are provided.
- Computer Literacy: Other than the courses, medical coding course eligibility is not very rigid criteria. This means that anyone after completing 12th grade can opt for this course. All they should know is the basic computer operating skills and typing skills. If you do not know these, you may first begin these classes by learning the fundamentals of computers. You may also undertake typing classes to be able to prevent any additional time wastage during the typing class.
- What does the course include: A training for medical coding must include training on CPT (Current Procedure Terminology, HCPCS (Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System) as these are standardized courses. Now training on ICO-10 is also mandatory as ICO -9 has become obsolete. Other than these, basic terminologies related to the medical field, Pharmacology, Pathology, Anatomy, Physiology, HIPAA and Insurance compliance.
- Curriculum: The curriculum is vast and covers a host of subjects that are required as prerequisites for the course. Although there are short duration courses too, wherein you can undertake and get a job; however if you are seeking for a long time career, looking at the flexible hours and freelancing model of the work, you may go for a course that is detailed.
- Goals: After completing the curriculum of ranging between one to two years, you may apply for positions such as Coding specialist, Billing coordinator, patient account representative, medical record technician, and cancer registrar.
A worthy investment awaits you as you take a giant leap towards the fruition of your predetermined goals.
