What is medical coding?

Every medical procedure, from routine physicals to rarer surgeries has a (alpha?)numeric code associated with it. The codes are used by US health care providers to obtain payment/reimbursement from private insurers, Medicaid, Medicare and other government insurance. There are reference manuals with all of these codes, and I’m sure they’re online. There seems to always be a demand for coders. You will need some kind of training, since it is specialized. Ask the HR department of a hospital or other large provider if training is available. Otherwise, you might have to do a program.

To add to what kevbo posted above, the two most significant coding systems are ICD-9 codes and CPT codes. These systems allow for universal communication between providers and insurance companies.

ICD/International Classification of Diseases is just that…it attaches a numeric code to all medical issues/condtions

CPT/Current Procedural Terminology attaches a numeric code to designate any vists, procedures, etc.

There are certification systems for billers. If it is something you are interested in, you may want to get a job as a biller w/out being certified to see if it is worth your time/interest to get certified.

Have a look at this website – American Academy of Professional Coders

Thanks guys. So basically every patient that visits a hospital for whatever reason is assigned several codes? Like an identification numbers for the types of procedures they go through?