Chicago Residents Choose A Medical Coding Career

By Author: William Hauselberg
Total Articles: 816
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Chicago’s largest industry is health care. In fact, over 100,000 people in Chicago work in the health care field. Northwest Memorial Hospital alone has thousands of people working for them. In Chicago, medical coders are in high demand. If you are interested in getting a Chicago medical coding certificate, then read on and find out more about this interesting, detail-oriented career.

What Do Medical Coders Do?

Medical coders work in the business side of the medical field. The main task of a medical coder is to make sure that health care providers receive payment from insurance companies for medical care that has been provided. There is a book of numeric codes for every medical treatment, diagnosis, and procedure that occurs in a health care setting. Medical coders examine patient charts and assign a numeric code for the type of medical care that has been provided to the patient.

Then, a medical coder will create an insurance statement according to the numeric code and send it to an insurance provider. When the insurance provider receives the claim a decision is made as to whether the claim will be accepted ...
... or denied. The health care provider gets paid when the claim is accepted. In the case of a denial, a medical coder will discuss the problem with a doctor or the health care provider, make a change in the numeric code, and resubmit the claim.

Where Do Medical Coders Work?

Medical coders work in doctor’s offices, hospitals, outpatient care offices, nursing care facilities, and home health care companies. This provides numerous job opportunities for those who are interested in getting a Chicago medical coding certificate. With a population of almost 3 million, Chicago has more than 50 hospitals in the metro area and 25 in the city limits. Chicago also has 100 homes for the elderly that provide everything from independent living to assisted living.

Do You Need a Degree or a Certificate for Medical Coding?

Medical coders take classes in the following:

•medical terminology
•anatomy
•physiology
•coding systems
•health care reimbursement
•data security
•data analysis
•classification

Chicago health care schools offer both the option of getting a certificate or an associate’s degree. What is most important for getting a job is to get an education. Then get some work experience by working as an intern. Both an education and work experience will help to ensure that you are a top candidate for a job as a medical coder.

More information about Chicago medical coding certificate and Chicago health care schools available in the site.