The healthcare industry is one of the fastest growing industries in our country; and so are the career opportunities in the industry. This sector is generating millions of jobs not only in India and the United States but also in other developed and developing countries. As a major advancement in the Healthcare BPO segment, medical coding has today emerged as one of the most attractive and career options.
What is Medical Coding?
Medical Coding is basically assigning standardised numeric and alphanumeric codes to represent the diagnosis, procedures and supplies documented by the healthcare providers in a patient’s medical record. This is usually done by certified coding specialists. When patients receive medical care or services, it is the responsibility of the Medical Coder to convert or translate the services received into a bunch of codes.
Possible Careers
Medical coding is the fastest-growing outsourced business process in India, and hence trained and certified coders are required. The sector is reeling with a lack of qualified candidates. Medical coding can be also be an excellent stepping stone onto a more lucrative, higher-level career in medical office management, or medical office operations.
Requirements
A Medical Coder has to have a solid understanding of human anatomy, physiology and medical terminologies. Other required skills are accuracy, critical thinking, attention to detail, flexibility, basic computer knowledge and organisational skills.
Remuneration package
A certified fresh Medical Coder can expect anywhere from `2,40,000 -3,00,000 annually and a hike of minimum 12-15 percent every year.
With the growth of private insurance sector in India, sooner or later the healthcare industry of our country might also be completely based on the insurance leading to the need for medical coding indifferent areas of healthcare. There is a lot to be happy about a career as a medical coder.
Vardhman Jain, Access Healthcare Services
– Vardhaman Jain, Vice President, Access Healthcare Services